What is the difference between eukaryotic and prokaryotic transcription

The prokaryotic transcription proceeds in three steps- Initiation, Elongation, Termination. The RNA polymerase is a core enzyme which is having different subunits. Moreover, for this enzyme to work, there are sigma factors.

A promoter is a DNA sequence that the transcription machinery attaches to and uses to start transcription. There are two promoter consensus sequences located in the and regions upstream of the start site, which is the same in all promoters and bacterial species. TATA is the consensus sequence, often known as the region. Polymerase aborts when it is unable to synthesize. Once polymerase is synthesized, i. The transcription of eukaryotes is much more complicated than that of prokaryotes.

Eukaryotes need several additional proteins known as transcription factors to first bind to the promoter region and then aid in the selection of the proper polymerase. The Eukaryotes have 3 RNA polymerase enzymes. Similarity in sequence has been shown between alpha, Rpb3, and Rpb Rpb3 and Rpb11 also form a subcomplex with Rpb2.

The Rpb3 and Rpb11 show the same fold as the alpha subunit in bacterial polymerase. The prokaryotic polymerase from the Thermus aquaticus core.

Home Page Prokaryotic vs. RNA polymerase in prokaryotic transcription has 5 polypeptides. The promoter region is located upstream to the start site in both kinds of transcriptions but in eukaryotic transcription, sometimes, the promoter region is located downstream to the start site in RNA Polymerase III present only in eukaryotic transcription.

This is possible in eukaryotic transcription only when the initiation factors are present in the promoter region. While the Pribnow boxes are present at 10 locations in the case of prokaryotic transcription, they are absent in eukaryotic transcription.

In eukaryotic transcription, TATA boxes are present base pairs before the start of the transcription initiation site of a gene. Introns are absent in prokaryotic transcription and thus there is no splicing of mRNA. As they are present in eukaryotic transcription, splicing is also present. An essential difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic transcription is that the primary transcript does not undergo any post-transcriptional modification in prokaryotic transcription but it happens in the case of eukaryotic transcription.

When we differentiate between prokaryotic and eukaryotic transcription, one of the essential points to consider is the RNA capping.