Prokaryotic vs Eukaryotic Transcription

prokaryote

have small, compact genomes

eukaryote

have large complex genomes

prokaryotes

transcription and translation occur close together

eukaryotes

transcription occurs in nucleus, translation in cytoplasm

prokaryotes

no introns spliced from RNA before processing

prokaryotes

no introns spliced from RNA

eukaryotes

introns in primary (pre) mRNA

prokaryotes

one RNA polymerase for all RNAs

prokaryotes

RNA polymerase consists of 5 subunits

eukaryotes

RNA is processed, capped, and polyadenylated

eukaryotes

contain 3-5 RNA polymerases

eukaryotes

3 RNA polymerases use different mechanisms for termination

prokaryotes

DNA is not bound to histone proteins, .: transcription occurs directly

eukaryotes

complex of histone proteins and DNA is accessible before transcription

prokaryotes

possess rho-dependent and rho-independent transcription terminators

eukaryotes

RNA polymerase consists of 10-17 subunits

prokaryotes

replication, transcription, and translation occur simultaneously in plasma

prokaryotes

RNA synthesis occurs in 3 steps: initiation, elongation, and termination

prokaryotes

transcripts can be polygenetic (code for multiple genes)

eukaryotes

transcripts are monogenetic

eukaryotes

pre-mRNAs contain introns which must be spliced out before translation

eukaryotes

contain RNA polymerases I, II, and III and require assistance of transcription factors