Genome-wide analysis of transcriptional termination in E. coli

Transcription termination factor Rho is essential in enterobacteria. We inhibited Rho activity with bicyclomycin and used microarray experiments to assess Rho function on a genome-wide scale. Rho is a global regulator of gene expression that matches E. coli transcription to translational needs. Remarkably, genes that are most repressed by Rho are prophages and other horizontally-acquired portions of the genome. Elimination of these foreign DNA elements increases resistance to bicyclomycin. Although rho remains essential, such reduced-genome bacteria no longer require Rho cofactors NusA and NusG. Thus, Rho termination, supported by NusA and NusG, is required to suppress the toxic activity of foreign DNA. Global regulation of transcription termination by Rho, NusA, and NusG. Keywords: Antibiotic treatment Two sets of experiments are presented. First, treatment of E. coli with Rho inhibitor bicyclomycin was performed in strains MG1655 and O157:H7 EDL933 for twenty minutes at concentrations of 10, 25, or 100 micrograms/milliliter. In the second set of experiments the reduced-genome strain MDS42 was treated with bicyclomycin as well as having deletions of the genes nusA and nusG. Total RNA was extracted and hybridized to the Affymetrix E. coli Genome 2.0 array, which contains complete genome coverage of four strains of E. coli.