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Rho factor
Prokaryotic protein / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A ρ factor (Rho factor) is a bacterial protein involved in the termination of transcription.[1] Rho factor binds to the transcription terminator pause site, an exposed region of single stranded RNA (a stretch of 72 nucleotides) after the open reading frame at C-rich/G-poor sequences that lack obvious secondary structure.[2]
Transcription termination factor Rho | |||||||
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![]() Rho factor homohexamer | |||||||
Identifiers | |||||||
Organism | E. coli | ||||||
Symbol | rho | ||||||
UniProt | P0AG30 | ||||||
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Rho factor is an essential transcription protein in bacteria.[3] In Escherichia coli, it is a ~274.6 kD hexamer of identical subunits. Each subunit has an RNA-binding domain and an ATP-hydrolysis domain. Rho is a member of the RecA/SF5 family of ATP-dependent hexameric helicases that function by wrapping nucleic acids around a single cleft extending around the entire hexamer. Rho functions as an ancillary factor for RNA polymerase.
There are two types of transcriptional termination in bacteria, rho-dependent termination and intrinsic termination (also called Rho-independent termination). Rho-dependent terminators account for about half of the E. coli factor-dependent terminators. Other termination factors discovered in E. coli include Tau and nusA. Rho-dependent terminators were first discovered in bacteriophage genomes.