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AAT Bioquest

Where does the transcription terminate?

Posted March 1, 2023


Answer

RNA polymerase continues transcribing until it transcribes a DNA sequence known as a terminator, which signals that the transcript is complete. This gives the polymerase a signal to stop transcription. The process of ending transcription is known as termination. Bacteria has two major termination strategies - Rho-dependent and Rho-independent. 

  1. In Rho-dependent termination, transcription terminates when the RNA polymerase approaches the binding site for a protein known as Rho factor. 
  2. In Rho-independent termination, transcription terminates when the RNA polymerase hits a region rich in C and G nucleotides as it approaches the end of the gene being transcribed. This results in a hairpin formation, which obstructs the polymerase and terminates transcription.
Additional resources

Transcriptional termination in mammals: Stopping the RNA polymerase II juggernaut

DNA and RNA Quantitation

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