Transcript termination is essential for accurate gene expression and the removal of RNA polymerase (RNAP) at the ends of transcription units. In bacteria, two mechanisms are responsible for proper transcript termination: intrinsic termination and Rho-dependent termination. Intrinsic termination is mediated by signals directly encoded within the DNA template and nascent RNA, whereas Rho-dependent termination relies upon the adenosine triphosphate-dependent RNA translocase Rho, which binds nascent RNA and dissociates the elongation complex. Although significant progress has been made in understanding these pathways, fundamental details remain undetermined. Among those that remain unresolved are the existence of an inactivated intermediate in the intrinsic termination pathway, the role of Rho-RNAP interactions in Rho-dependent termination, and the mechanisms by which accessory factors and nucleoid-associated proteins affect termination. We describe current knowledge, discuss key outstanding questions, and highlight the importance of defining the structural rearrangements of RNAP that are involved in the two mechanisms of transcript termination.
In bacteria, intrinsic termination signals cause disassembly of the highly stable elongating transcription complex (EC) over windows of two to three nucleotides after kilobases of RNA synthesis. Intrinsic termination is caused by the formation of a nascent RNA hairpin adjacent to a weak RNA−DNA hybrid within RNA polymerase (RNAP). Although the contributions of RNA and DNA sequences to termination are largely understood, the roles of conformational changes in RNAP are less well described. The polymorphous trigger loop (TL), which folds into the trigger helices to promote nucleotide addition, also is proposed to drive termination by folding into the trigger helices and contacting the terminator hairpin after invasion of the hairpin in the RNAP main cleft [Epshtein V, Cardinale CJ, Ruckenstein AE, Borukhov S, Nudler E (2007) Mol Cell 28:991-1001]. To investigate the contribution of the TL to intrinsic termination, we developed a kinetic assay that distinguishes effects of TL alterations on the rate at which ECs terminate from effects of the TL on the nucleotide addition rate that indirectly affect termination efficiency by altering the time window in which termination can occur. We confirmed that the TL stimulates termination rate, but found that stabilizing either the folded or unfolded TL conformation decreased termination rate. We propose that conformational fluctuations of the TL (TL dynamics), not TL-hairpin contact, aid termination by increasing EC conformational diversity and thus access to favorable termination pathways. We also report that the TL and the TL sequence insertion (SI3) increase overall termination efficiency by stimulating pausing, which increases the flux of ECs into the termination pathway.T ranscription termination is an essential process in all organisms that releases the RNA chain and DNA template from transcribing RNA polymerase (RNAP). Termination prevents unwanted gene expression (1), recycles RNAP for new initiation events (2), and prevents genome-destabilizing collisions with the replication machinery (3). In bacteria, intrinsic termination of the elongating transcription complex (EC) can occur without accessory factors in response to a signal in the DNA and newly synthesized RNA. Intrinsic termination occurs over a 2-to 3-nt window of EC destabilization (4) and is caused by the formation of a GC-rich RNA hairpin in the RNA exit channel of RNAP, immediately upstream of a 3′-terminal, ∼8-nt U-rich RNA tract (U-tract; Fig. 1A). Precise termination of the highly stable EC requires rapid entry into a termination pathway before continued nucleotide addition moves the EC beyond the region of destabilization (4-6).A thermodynamic termination model posits that the relative free energy barriers to termination versus elongation determine the fraction of ECs that terminate; thus, termination efficiency (TE) is kinetically determined by competing rates of nucleotide addition and termination (5, 7) (Fig. 1B). The EC is stabilized by polar and van der Waals contacts between RNAP and (i) the 9-to ...
In bacteria, disassembly of elongating transcription complexes (ECs) can occur at intrinsic terminators in a 2-3 nucleotide window after transcription of multiple kilobase pairs of DNA. Intrinsic terminators trigger pausing on weak RNA-DNA hybrids followed by formation of a strong, GC-rich stem-loop in the RNA exit channel of RNA polymerase (RNAP), inactivating nucleotide addition and inducing dissociation of RNA and RNAP from DNA. Although the movements of RNA and DNA during intrinsic termination have been studied extensively leading to multiple models, the effects of RNAP conformational changes remain less well-defined. RNAP contains a clamp domain that closes around the nucleic-acid scaffold during transcription initiation and can be displaced by either swiveling or opening motions. Clamp opening is proposed to promote termination by releasing RNAP-nucleic acid contacts. We developed a cysteinecrosslinking assay to constrain clamp movements and study effects on intrinsic termination. We found that biasing the clamp into different conformations perturbed termination efficiency, but that perturbations were due primarily to changes in elongation rate, not the competing rate at which ECs commit to termination. After commitment, however, inhibiting clamp movements slowed release of DNA but not of RNA from the EC. We also found that restricting trigger-loop movements with the RNAP inhibitor microcin J25 prior to commitment inhibits termination, in agreement with a recently proposed multistate-multipath model of intrinsic termination. Together our results support views that termination commitment and DNA release are separate steps and that RNAP may remain associated with DNA after termination.
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