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Transcription Termination, cont.

Announcements:

Learning objectives for Fri 11/3/00

1. (continued from Wed) compare and contrast attenuation and anti-termination (e.g. by lambda phage N protein) as mechanisms of control of transcriptional elongation
2. describe the general mechanism of eukaryotic mRNA cleavage and poly-adenylation, as its currently understood, and the connection between this process and transcriptional termination
3. in general terms, describe the anti-termination mechanism of HIV Tat protein

Outline:

• sometimes prokaryotic transcription termination uses a protein called rho, which binds to the nascent RNA and actively interferes with RNA polymerase
• anti-termination depends on RNA-binding proteins that interfere with termination
• example of anti-termination: lambda N protein
• eukaryotic termination is coupled to cleavage and poly-adenylation
• cleavage/poly-adenylation mechanism, and its putative link to termination
• anti-termination can also occur in eukaryotes: example is HIV Tat protein

   

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