Quantitative analysis of asynchronous transcription-translation and transcription processivity in under various growth conditions.

Tight coordination between transcription and translation has long been recognized as the hallmark of gene expression in bacteria. In cells, disruption of the transcription-translation coordination leads to the loss of transcription processivity via triggering Rho-mediated premature transcription termination. Here we quantitatively characterize the transcription and translation kinetics in Gram-positive model bacterium . We found that the speed of transcription elongation is much faster than that of translation elongation in under various growth conditions. Moreover, a Rho-independent loss of transcription processivity occurs constitutively in several genes/operons but is not subject to translational control. When the transcription elongation is decelerated under poor nutrients, low temperature, or nucleotide depletion, the loss of transcription processivity is strongly enhanced, suggesting that its degree is modulated by the speed of transcription elongation. Our study reveals distinct design principles of gene expression in and .