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Cited by 428Bacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyGene Regulatory Network AnalysisGenomics and Chromatin Dynamics

Mechanism of Transcriptional Bursting in Bacteria

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Chong, Shasha, Chen, Chongyi, Ge, Hao, Xie, X. Sunney·2014·Cell
DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.038PMC PMC4105854
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Abstract

Transcription of highly expressed genes has been shown to occur in stochastic bursts. But the origin of such ubiquitous phenomenon has not been understood. Here, we present the mechanism in bacteria. We developed a high-throughput, in vitro, single-molecule assay to follow transcription on individual DNA templates in real time. We showed that positive supercoiling buildup on a DNA segment by transcription slows down transcription elongation and eventually stops transcription initiation. Transcription can be resumed upon gyrase binding to the DNA segment. Furthermore, using single-cell mRNA counting fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), we found that duty cycles of transcriptional bursting depend on the intracellular gyrase concentration. Together, these findings prove that transcriptional bursting of highly expressed genes in bacteria is primarily caused by reversible gyrase dissociation from and rebinding to a DNA segment, changing the supercoiling level of the segment.

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  • Promoter state is not solely determined by instantaneous TF occupancy, consistent with a model in which the timescales of TF binding and promoter activation are similar, and suggests that promoters integrate information from multiple rounds of TF binding.

    “The finding that promoter state is not solely determined by instantaneous TF occupancy is consistent with a model in which the timescales of TF binding and promoter activation are similar (compare Fig. 3H to Fig. S4K for dissimilar timescales) and suggests that promoters integrate information from multiple rounds of TF binding34,35”

    From Single-molecule states link transcription factor binding to gene expression (2024) · cites this paper as [35]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Chong, S., Chen, C., Ge, H., & Xie, X. S.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Peking University (CN)
Corresponding author
Xie, X. Sunney
ORCID
Venue
Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2014-07
Volume
158
Issue
2
Pages
314-326
ISSN
0092-8674 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.038
PMC
PMC4105854
OpenAlex
W2003470745
Cited by
428
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 48 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 10
FWCI
23.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (21373021)
  • Foundation for the Author of National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of the People's Republic of China (201119)
  • National Institutes of Health (1DP1OD000277, TR01 (5R01GM096450-02)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gene Regulatory Network Analysis
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
Keywords
transcriptional bursting, bacterial transcription, DNA supercoiling, gyrase, transcription elongation, transcription initiation, fluorescence in situ hybridization, highly expressed genes, transcriptional noise
MeSH terms
DNA, Superhelical, Escherichia coli, Models, Genetic, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Transcription, Genetic, In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence, DNA Gyrase, Transcription Initiation, Genetic, Transcription Elongation, Genetic

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