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Related Concept Videos

Transcription Attenuation in Prokaryotes02:42

Transcription Attenuation in Prokaryotes

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Transcriptional attenuation occurs when RNA transcription is prematurely terminated due to the formation of a terminator mRNA hairpin structure.  Bacteria use these hairpins to regulate the transcription process and control the synthesis of several amino acids including histidine, lysine, threonine, and phenylalanine. Transcription attenuation takes place in the non-coding regions of mRNA.
There are several different mechanisms used to attenuate transcription. In ribosome mediated...
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Bacterial Transcription01:53

Bacterial Transcription

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RNA polymerase (RNAP) carries out DNA-dependent RNA synthesis in both bacteria and eukaryotes. Bacteria do not have a membrane-bound nucleus. So, transcription and translation occur simultaneously, on the same DNA template.
Transcription can be divided into three main stages, each involving distinct DNA sequences to guide the polymerase. These are:
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Transcription in Prokaryotes01:28

Transcription in Prokaryotes

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Transcription is a highly regulated process that converts genetic information into RNA molecules. The transcription cycle is divided into three key stages: initiation, elongation, and termination, each driven by specific molecular mechanisms.Initiation of TranscriptionIn bacteria, transcription begins when the RNA polymerase core enzyme associates with a sigma factor to form a holoenzyme. For example, the E. coli sigma factor called σ70 forms a holoenzyme, which recognizes the -10 (Pribnow...
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Bacterial RNA Polymerase00:43

Bacterial RNA Polymerase

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Unlike eukaryotes, bacteria use a single RNA Polymerase (RNAP) to transcribe all genes. The different subunits of bacterial RNAPhave distinct functions. The multisubunit structure of the bacterial RNAP helps the enzyme to maintain catalytic function, facilitate assembly, interact with DNA and RNA, and self-regulate its activity.
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
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Transcription Initiation01:47

Transcription Initiation

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Initiation is the first step of transcription in eukaryotes. Prokaryotic RNA Polymerase (RNAP) can bind to the template DNA and start transcribing. On the other hand, transcription in eukaryotes requires additional proteins, called transcription factors, to first bind to the promoter region in the DNA template. This binding helps recruit the specific RNAP that can assemble on the DNA and start transcription.
The promoters and enhancers and their accessory proteins allow tight regulation of...
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Eukaryotic RNA Polymerases00:58

Eukaryotic RNA Polymerases

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RNA Polymerase (RNAP) is conserved in all animals, with bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic RNAPs sharing significant sequence, structural, and functional similarities. Among the three eukaryotic RNAPs, RNA Polymerase II is most similar to bacterial RNAP in terms of both structural organization and folding topologies of the enzyme subunits. However, these similarities are not reflected in their mechanism of action.
All three eukaryotic RNAPs require specific transcription factors, of which the...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2025

Analysis of Termination of Transcription Using BrUTP-strand-specific Transcription Run-on TRO Approach
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Analysis of Termination of Transcription Using BrUTP-strand-specific Transcription Run-on TRO Approach

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How do bacteria tune transcription termination efficiency?

Kathryn Julia Dierksheide1, Robert A Battaglia1, Gene-Wei Li1

  • 1Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Current Opinion in Microbiology
|October 18, 2024
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Bacterial transcription terminators control gene expression, but their strength is hard to predict from DNA sequence. New high-throughput methods are helping to understand sequence determinants for better prediction models.

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Last Updated: Jun 10, 2025

Analysis of Termination of Transcription Using BrUTP-strand-specific Transcription Run-on TRO Approach
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Rapid Verification of Terminators Using the pGR-Blue Plasmid and Golden Gate Assembly
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In Vitro Transcription Assays and Their Application in Drug Discovery

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Bacterial operons utilize transcription terminators to regulate gene expression and maintain stoichiometric protein ratios.
  • Intrinsic terminators are a major class of bacterial terminators, yet their sequence-function relationship is not well understood.
  • Terminator readthrough influences downstream gene expression, impacting protein levels in co-regulated genes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review high-throughput methods for identifying sequence determinants of intrinsic terminator efficiency.
  • To discuss the influence of trans-acting factors on the sequence-function relationship of terminators.
  • To outline experimental challenges in developing a quantitative model for terminator efficiency.

Main Methods:

  • Summary of high-throughput experimental approaches.
  • Analysis of sequence determinants of terminator efficiency.
  • Discussion of trans-acting factor effects.

Main Results:

  • High-throughput methods offer new ways to probe terminator sequence determinants.
  • Trans-acting factors significantly impact terminator strength and function.
  • Predicting terminator strength from DNA sequence remains a challenge.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding intrinsic terminator sequence determinants is crucial for predicting gene expression.
  • Developing a quantitative model requires overcoming significant experimental hurdles.
  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate the sequence-function relationship of bacterial transcription terminators.