Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1981 Jul;78(7):4180-4.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.7.4180.

Synthetic sites for transcription termination and a functional comparison with tryptophan operon termination sites in vitro

G E Christie, P J Farnham, T Platt

Synthetic sites for transcription termination and a functional comparison with tryptophan operon termination sites in vitro

G E Christie et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Jul.

Abstract

Termination of transcription by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase in vitro appears to depend primarily on two structural features of the termination site--a G+C-rich region of dyad symmetry and a series of terminal uridine residues in the transcript. To determine whether these two features are sufficient to specify rho-independent termination in vitro, we have introduced new sequences within a tryptophan (trp) operon structural gene to create two sites with these characteristics. Transcription with wild-type RNA polymerase in vitro demonstrates that discrete termination occurs at one of these new sites, although at a low level. Use of the mutant RNA polymerase rpo203, which is more sensitive to certain weak terminators than is the wild-type enzyme, increases termination at both sites. We have compared the activity of our synthetic terminators with those of several termination sites in the E. coli trp operon. Under normal conditions of transcription in vitro, termination becomes more efficient with an increase in the length of the stem in the RNA hairpin or an increase in the number of consecutive uridine residues. Transcription with the rpo203 polymerase and with ribonucleotide analogs gives changes consistent with these general trends. These results support a model for termination involving separate but essential roles for the RNA hairpin and the stretch of uridines in the transcript.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Nature. 1969 Dec 20;224(5225):1168-74 - PubMed
    1. Biochemistry. 1975 Oct 21;14(21):4634-8 - PubMed
    1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Oct;74(10):4365-9 - PubMed
    1. J Mol Biol. 1977 Nov 25;117(1):227-47 - PubMed
    1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1978 Jan;75(1):294-7 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources