Transcription establishes the universal first step of gene expression where RNA is produced by a DNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The most versatile of eukaryotic RNA polymerases, RNA polymerase II (Pol II), transcribes a broad range of DNA including protein-coding and a variety of non-coding transcription units. Although Pol II can be configured as a durable enzyme capable of transcribing hundreds of kilobases, there is reliable evidence of widespread abortive Pol II transcription termination shortly after initiation, which is often followed by rapid degradation of the associated RNA. The molecular details underlying this phenomenon are still vague but likely reflect the action of quality control mechanisms on the early Pol II complex. Here, we summarize current knowledge of how and when such promoter-proximal quality control is asserted on metazoan Pol II.
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February 2022
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The highly conserved enzyme IMPDH plays an essential role in purine biosynthesis and is tightly regulated by many different mechanisms. Depicted here are cryo-EM structures of the large retinal splice variant of IMPDH1 in different filament assembly conformations overlaid on a cryo-EM micrograph of IMPDH1 filaments. Cover artwork created by Jesse Hansen.
Review Article|
February 15 2022
Control of non-productive RNA polymerase II transcription via its early termination in metazoans
Jérôme O. Rouvière;
Søren Lykke-Andersen;
Torben Heick Jensen
Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Correspondence: Torben Heick Jensen (thj@mbg.au.dk)
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
November 03 2021
Revision Received:
January 11 2022
Accepted:
January 24 2022
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society
2022
Biochem Soc Trans (2022) 50 (1): 283–295.
Article history
Received:
November 03 2021
Revision Received:
January 11 2022
Accepted:
January 24 2022
Citation
Jérôme O. Rouvière, Søren Lykke-Andersen, Torben Heick Jensen; Control of non-productive RNA polymerase II transcription via its early termination in metazoans. Biochem Soc Trans 28 February 2022; 50 (1): 283–295. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20201140
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