The template RNAs of RNA polymerases can have compact secondary structure, formed by long double helices with partial violations of the complementarity

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Abstract
A new method contextual analysis was used to search the long non‐random inverted repeats and the complementary palindromes in the genes of E. coli and T7 RNA polymerases. These genes were found to contain from 25% to 50% of all the nucleotides involved in such helices. The 5′‐ and 3′‐ends of mRNA can be protected by neighbouring double helices from the nuclease attack. Some double helices are competing and very similar to the attenuator of E. coli trp‐operon.