The initial stages of transcription by RNA polymerase are frequently marked by pausing and stalling events. These events have been linked to an inactive backtracked state in which the polymerase diffuses along the template DNA. We investigate theoretically the influence of RNA secondary structure in confining this diffusion. The effective confinement length peaks at transcript lengths commensurate with early stalling. This finite-size effect accounts for slow progress at the beginning of transcription, which we illustrate via stochastic hopping models for backtracking polymerases.

• Received 31 March 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.81.030904