Poster abstracts
Poster number 4 submitted by Menglin Chen
Measurements of first- versus multiple- round translation in E. coli argue against a mechanism to ensure coupling of transcription and translation
Menglin Chen (Department of Microbiology Ohio State Biochemistry Program, The Ohio State University), Kurt Fredrick (Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University)
Abstract:
In prokaryotes, the synthesis of RNA and protein occurs simultaneously in the cytoplasm. A number of studies indicate that translation can strongly impact transcription, and this is believed to be due to coupling between RNA polymerase (RNAP) and the ribosome. Whether there exists a mechanism to ensure or promote RNAP-ribosome coupling remains unclear. Here, we used an efficient hammerhead ribozyme and developed a novel reporter system to measure first- versus multiple-round translation in E. coli. Six pairs of co-transcribed and differentially-translated genes were analyzed. For five of them, the stoichiometry of the two protein products came no closer to unity (1:1) when the rounds of translation were dramatically reduced. These data are consistent with models of stochastic coupling and suggest that RNAP often transcribes without a linked ribosome.
Keywords: ribosome, RNA polymerase, NusG