Stochasticity and traffic jams in the transcription of ribosomal RNA: Intriguing role of termination and antitermination.

ABSTRACT: In fast-growing bacteria, ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is required to be transcribed at very high rates to sustain the high cellular demand on ribosome synthesis. This results in dense traffic of RNA polymerases (RNAP). We developed a stochastic model, integrating results of single-molecule and quantitative in vivo studies of Escherichia coli, to evaluate the quantitative effect of pausing, termination, and antitermination (AT) on rRNA transcription. Our calculations reveal that in dense RNAP traffic, spontaneous pausing of RNAP can lead to severe "traffic jams," as manifested in the broad distribution of inter-RNAP distances and can be a major factor limiting transcription and hence growth. Our results suggest the suppression of these pauses by the ribosomal AT complex to be essential at fast gro

SUBMITTER: Klumpp S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2587539 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature