Parameters used for computational studies.

aFor a single mRNA species, the copy number in E. coli is on the order of 10. Due to competition with other messages, a single mRNA species is exposed only to an ‘effective’ ribosome concentration, , equal to the total free ribosomes, which is (see Table 1). Then by choosing equal to this ‘effective’ ribosome concentration. bFollowing [23], mRNA length used corresponds to the mean of and globin in reticulocytes. cValue chosen to be equal to the mRNA size used. dAll dimensional elongation rate constants, , , chosen to be equal to their characteristic value, . Thus, as the dimensionless elongation rates are defined as .