Transcript elongation and termination are competitive kinetic processes.
In this paper, we develop a kinetic approach to predict the efficiency of termination at intrinsic (factor independent) terminators of Escherichia coli and related organisms. In general, our predictions agree well with experimental results. Our analysis also suggests that termination efficiency can readily be modulated by protein factors and environmental variables that shift the kinetic competition toward either elongation or termination. A quantitative framework for the consideration of such regulatory effects is developed and the strengths and limitations of the approach are discussed.
von Hippel
P H
PH
Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene 97403-1229.
Yager
T D
TD
D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D007700:Kinetics; D008957:Models, Genetic; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D013728:Terminator Regions, Genetic; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases