RNA polymerase sliding on DNA can couple the transcription of nearby bacterial operons.
Debora TenenbaumKoe InlowLarry FriedmanAnthony CaiJeff GellesJane KondevPublished in: bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology (2023)
After transcribing an operon, a bacterial RNA polymerase can stay bound to DNA, slide along it, and reini-tiate transcription of the same or a different operon. Quantitative single-molecule biophysics experiments combined with mathematical theory demonstrate that this reinitiation process can be quick and efficient over gene spacings typical of a bacterial genome. Reinitiation may provide a mechanism to orchestrate the transcriptional activities of groups of nearby operons.