How does Rho in bacteria function similarly to Xrn2 in eukaryotes to terminate transcription? The Role of Rho and Xrn2 in Transcription Termination

The Role of Rho and Xrn2 in Transcription Termination

Rho and Xrn2 are both molecular proteins that have a similar role in the termination of transcription in bacteria and eukaryotes, respectively. In bacteria, Rho is an essential transcription termination factor that binds the nascent RNA transcript and helps cleave the phosphodiester bond between the 3’ end of the RNA and the DNA template strand (Kuzmin & Börner, 2016). This process, known as Rho-dependent transcription termination, requires the presence of specific sites in the RNA transcript, known as rho-utilization sites (RUTs) (Kuzmin & Börner, 2016). By recognizing these RUTs, Rho is able to efficiently and accurately terminate transcription at the correct site. Similarly, Xrn2 is a eukaryotic transcription termination factor that is responsible for cleaving the 5’ end of the RNA transcript, thereby releasing the RNA from the DNA template strand (Ladurner et al., 2017). Like Rho, Xrn2 recognizes specific sites in the RNA transcript, known as Xrn2 motifs, and binds to them to initiate cleavage of the transcript (Ladurner et al., 2017). Although Xrn2 and Rho have different modes of action, they both perform the. Cont…