Question

Which mechanism of transcription termination in bacteria does not require a protein factor?

Options

• Sigma-dependent termination

• Rho-independent termination

• Rho-dependent termination

• Factor-dependent termination

Answer 1

Rho-independent termination (also called intrinsic termination) does not require a protein factor. Instead, it relies on the formation of a hairpin loop structure in the nascent RNA combined with a U-rich sequence. This hairpin formation is energetically favorable and intrinsically causes the RNA-DNA hybrid to destabilize, leading to transcription termination without any additional protein factors.