Gene Expression: Transcription

of the Genetic Code

GENERAL FEATURES OF RNA SYNTHESIS

1. Template Strand
• Of the two strands of DNA, one of them is the template for RNA synthesis of a
particular RNA product.
• The enzyme that catalyzes the process is DNA-dependent RNA polymerase.
• RNA polymerase reads the template from 30 to 50.
2. Coding Strand
• The other strand is called the coding strand, because its sequence is the same
as the RNA sequence that is produced, with the exception of U replacing T.
• It is also called sense strand, because the RNA sequence is the sequence that
we use to determine what amino acids are produced through mRNA.
• It is also called (+) strand, or nontemplate strand.
PROMOTERS

• Promoters are DNA sequences that provide signal for RNA

polymerase, and they are where RNA polymerase binds.
• By convention, the binding site for polymerase is upstream of the
transcription start site, which means to the 5’ side of the coding
strand and to the 3’ side of the template strand.
• The promoter region is given based on the coding strand, even
though the RNA polymerase is actually binding to the template
strand.
THE PROCESS OF TRANSCRIPTION

• Initiation
• The process of transcription is usually broken down into three phases:
initiation, elongation, and termination.
• There are usually four steps in the transcription initiation:
• formation of a closed promoter complex,
• conversion of the closed promoter complex to an open promoter complex,
• polymerizing the first few nucleotides (up to 10) while the polymerase remains
at the promoter
• promoter clearance, in which the transcript becomes long enough to form a
stable hybrid with the template strand.
• This helps to stabilize the transcription complex, and the polymerase moves
away from the promoter and the transcription starts the elongation stage.
THE PROCESS OF TRANSCRIPTION

• Elongation
• During the elongation phase, RNA polymerase directs the sequential binding
of ribonucleotides to the growing RNA chain in the 5’->3’ direction, while
the RNA polymerase and transcription bubble move along the template DNA
in 3’->5’ direction.
• As the RNA polymerase moves along the template DNA, the transcription
bubble also moves with it.
• This melted region exposes the bases of the template DNA one by one so
they can pair with the bases of the incoming ribonucleotides.
THE PROCESS OF TRANSCRIPTION

• Termination
• Termination of RNA transcription involves specific sequences downstream of
the actual gene for the RNA to be transcribed.
• There are two types of termination mechanism—
• intrinsic termination
• regions at the end of genes called terminator or termination sites can signal the
termination of transcription.
• rho (ρ)—dependent termination
• Involves an inverted repeat, so it also causes a hairpin loop to form but no string of
U.
• In this case, the ρ protein binds to the RNA and chases the polymerase.
•