Why is transcription coupled to translation in bacteria?
Active mechanisms exist to prevent transcription that is uncoupled from translation in the protein-coding genes of bacteria, as exemplified by the phenomenon of nonsense polarity. Bacterial transcription-translation coupling may be viewed as one among several co-transcriptional processes, including those for mRNA processing and export in the eukaryotes, that operate in the various life forms to render the nascent transcript unavailable for formation of otherwise deleterious R-loops in the genome.
Gowrishankar
J
J
Laboratory of Bacterial Genetics, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad 500076, India. shankar@cdfd.org.in
Harinarayanan
R
R
D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D004269:DNA, Bacterial