Control of transcription elongation by GreA determines rate of gene expression in Streptococcus pneumoniae.

ABSTRACT: Transcription by RNA polymerase may be interrupted by pauses caused by backtracking or misincorporation that can be resolved by the conserved bacterial Gre-factors. However, the consequences of such pausing in the living cell remain obscure. Here, we developed molecular biology and transcriptome sequencing tools in the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae and provide evidence that transcription elongation is rate-limiting on highly expressed genes. Our results suggest that transcription elongation may be a highly regulated step of gene expression in S. pneumoniae. Regulation is accomplished via long-living elongation pauses and their resolution by elongation factor GreA. Interestingly, mathematical modeling indicates that long-living pauses cause queuing of RNA polymerases, which result

SUBMITTER: Yuzenkova Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4176173 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature