In prokaryotes, there are three major types of RNAs: mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA. All three RNAs are needed to synthesize a protein in a cell. The mRNA provides the template, tRNA brings amino acids and reads the genetic code, and rRNAs play structural and catalytic role during translation. There is a single DNA-dependent RNA polymerase that catalyses transcription of all types of RNA. It binds to the promoter and initiates transcription (Initiation).
The polymerases binding sites are called promoters. It uses nucleoside triphosphate as substrate and polymerases in a template depended fashion following the rule of complementarity. After the initiation of transcription, the polymerase continues to elongate the RNA, adding one nucleotide after another to the growing RNA chain. Only a short stretch of RNA remains bound to the enzyme, when the polymerase reaches a terminator at the end of a gene, the, nascent RNA falls off, so also the RNA polymerase. The RNA polymerase is only capable of catalyzing the process of elongation. The RNA polymerase associates transiently with initiation factor sigma (a) and termination factor rho (p) to initiate and terminate the transcription, respectively.
Association of RNA with these factors instructs the RNA polymerase either to initiate or terminate the process of transcription. In bacteria, since the mRNA does not require any processing to become active and also since transcription and translation take place simultaneously in the same compartment sincethere is no separation of cytosol and nucleus in bacteria), many times the translation can begin much before the mRNA is fully transcribed. This is because the genetic material is not separated from other cell organelles by a nuclear membrane consequently; transcription and translation can be coupled in bacteria.
