Question

isaac discovers that a newly isolated bacterium has an unusual rna polymerase that requires a primer to initiate transcription, like dna polymerase. how would this affect the bacteriums transcription compared to normal bacteria?
transcription would be faster, since primers provide a starting point for rna polymerase
the bacterium would be unable to terminate transcription normally
transcription would be limited because the cell would need a separate enzyme to make rna primers for every transcript
only mrna could be transcribed, but not trna or rrna
the bacterium would have higher transcriptional fidelity

Explanation:

In normal bacteria, RNA polymerase can initiate transcription without a primer. If this newly - isolated bacterium's RNA polymerase requires a primer like DNA polymerase, the cell would need a separate enzyme to synthesize RNA primers for each transcript. This additional step and requirement for primers would likely limit transcription. Transcription speed is not necessarily increased just by having a primer, and there is no indication that it would affect termination, or that only mRNA could be transcribed. Higher transcriptional fidelity is not directly related to the need for a primer for initiation.

Answer:

Transcription would be limited because the cell would need a separate enzyme to make RNA primers for every transcript