Gene Expression And RNA Processing Flashcards
What is transcription in E. coli
What are the special things about it
DNA to RNA
RNA is made 5’ to 3’ and uses the 3-5 stand of dna to transcribe
Is slower than dna replication because it transcribed 50nucletides/sec
DNA does 1000/sec in replication
Doesn’t need primer to start transcription because of the ppp and the start of the rna strand
Doesn’t need helicase to split apart the dna strands
What is needed for transcription to happen
NTP (not dntp)
RNA polymerase
DNA template
Divalent cation like mg2+ (in rna pol active site)
What are the subunits of RNA pol in E. coli
Two alpha
Beta
Beta prime
Omega
Sigma 70 (70kda)
What do the 2 alpha subunits do
The assemble the core rna pol enzyme and interact with regulatory factors
What does the beta and beta prime subunits do
Catalysis of transcription
Interacts with dna and rna
What does the omega subunit do
Restore the denature polymerase to its native form
It’s important for the structure of the enzyme
What does the sigma 70 subunit do
Takes part in promoter recognition
What subunits form the rna pol core enzymesm
What about its active site
Aplha x2
Beta
Beta prime
Omega
Beta and beta prime
What is a holoenzyme
The core enzyme and the sigma subunit
The active site of rna pol is
In between beta and beta prime
Where is transcription initiated
The promoter
Has the -10 (also called pribnow box) and -35 sequences upstream of the +1 start site of the coding strand
These sequences are 6 bp long
How is transcription initiated
First the sigma subunit of the RNA pol decreases rna pols affinity for dna
This lets the rna pol move quickly along the dna template strand to find the promoter
The sigma subunit then recognizes the promoter (-35 and -10)
What happens to the sigma subunit after it’s found the promoter and many rna nucleotides have been made?
The sigma subunit falls of the core of the holoenzyme
Does rna synthesis need a primer to start
No
How is elongation carried out in rna transcription
Where does the already made 5 prime rna go
After forming the first phosphodiester linkage, elongation happens
New ntps are added to the growing strand at the 3’ end
The 5’ already made rna is released though a channel in the enzyme
What is the transcription bubble
How long is it
The denatruated area of the dna that’s unwounds and rna is being made
17bp long