During transcription of protein-coding genes, bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) is closely followed by a ribosome that is engaged in translation of the newly synthesized transcript. Here we show that as a result of translation-transcription coupling the overall elongation rate of transcription is tightly controlled by translation. Acceleration and deceleration of a ribosome results in corresponding changes in the speed of RNAP. Consistently, we found an inverse correlation between the number of rare codons in a gene, which delay ribosome progression, and the rate of transcription. We further show that the stimulating effect of a ribosome on RNAP is achieved by preventing RNAP from adopting non-productive states. The moving ribosome inhibits spontaneous backtracking of RNAP, thereby enhancing its pace and also facilitating read-through of roadblocks in vivo. Such a cooperative mechanism ensures the two gene expression machineries match precisely each other rates, so that the transcriptional yield is always adjusted to translational needs at different genes and under various growth conditions.

UvrD helicase is required for nucleotide excision repair, although its role in this process is not well defined. Here we show that Escherichia coli UvrD binds RNA polymerase during transcription elongation and, using its helicase/translocase activity, forces RNA polymerase to slide backward along DNA. By inducing backtracking, UvrD exposes DNA lesions shielded by blocked RNA polymerase, allowing nucleotide excision repair enzymes to gain access to sites of damage. Our results establish UvrD as a bona fide transcription elongation factor that contributes to genomic integrity by resolving conflicts between transcription and DNA repair complexes. We further show that the elongation factor NusA cooperates with UvrD in coupling transcription to DNA repair by promoting backtracking and recruiting nucleotide excision repair enzymes to exposed lesions. Because backtracking is a shared feature of all cellular RNA polymerases, we propose that this mechanism enables RNA polymerases to function as global DNA damage scanners in bacteria and eukaryotes.

Riboswitches are RNA sensors that regulate gene expression upon binding specific metabolites or ions. Bacterial riboswitches control gene expression primarily by promoting intrinsic transcription termination or by inhibiting translation initiation. We now report a third general mechanism of riboswitch action: governing the ability of the RNA-dependent helicase Rho to terminate transcription. We establish that Rho promotes transcription termination in the Mg 2+ -sensing mgtA riboswitch from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and the flavin mononucleotide-sensing ribB riboswitch from Escherichia coli when the corresponding riboswitch ligands are present. The Rho-specific inhibitor bicyclomycin enabled transcription of the coding regions at these two loci in bacteria experiencing repressing concentrations of the riboswitch ligands in vivo. A mutation in the mgtA leader that favors the "high Mg 2+ " conformation of the riboswitch promoted Rho-dependent transcription termination in vivo and in vitro and enhanced the ability of the RNA to stimulate Rho's ATPase activity in vitro. These effects were overcome by mutations in a C-rich region of the mRNA that is alternately folded at high and low Mg 2+ , suggesting a role for this region in regulating the activity of Rho. Our results reveal a potentially widespread mode of gene regulation whereby riboswitches dictate whether a protein effector can interact with the transcription machinery to prematurely terminate transcription.