Abstract
RNA polymerase molecules in the act of synthesizing ribosomal RNA1–4 in vivo can be packed on rRNA genes at densities near the physical limit, suggesting that this genetic information is transcribed at nearly its highest possible rate1,3–5. On the other hand, operons specifying mRNA have a transcriptional frequency about 100 times less than rRNA operons, even in conditions of complete derepression5–8. Since mRNA and rRNA chains grow at the same rate in the cell1,5–7, new RNA chains must be initiated on rRNA operons much more frequently than on most other operons.
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PETTIJOHN, D. Ordered and Preferential Initiation of Ribosomal RNA Synthesis in vitro. Nature New Biology 235, 204–206 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio235204a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio235204a0
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