Question

Explain the process of transcription in a bacterium in5marks

Answer 1

Bacterial transcription is the process in which messenger RNA transcripts of genetic material in bacteria are produced, to be translated for the production of proteins. Unlike in eukaryotes, bacterial transcription and translation can occur simultaneously in the cytoplasm. This is impossible in eukaryotes, where transcription occurs in a membrane-bound nucleus while translation occurs outside the nucleus in the cytoplasm (see also Eukaryotic transcription). In bacteria genetic material is not enclosed in a membrane-enclosed nucleus and has access to ribosomes in the cytoplasm.[1]

Transcription is carried out by RNA polymerase but its specificity is controlled by sequence-specific DNA binding proteins called transcription factors.