Promoter-proximal pausing of RNA polymerase II: a nexus of gene regulation
- 1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Institute of Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA;
- 2Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Corresponding authors: karen_adelman{at}hms.harvard.edu, leighton.core{at}uconn.edu
Abstract
Precise spatio–temporal control of gene activity is essential for organismal development, growth, and survival in a changing environment. Decisive steps in gene regulation involve the pausing of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) in early elongation, and the controlled release of paused polymerase into productive RNA synthesis. Here we describe the factors that enable pausing and the events that trigger Pol II release into the gene. We also discuss open questions in the field concerning the stability of paused Pol II, nucleosomes as obstacles to elongation, and potential roles of pausing in defining the precision and dynamics of gene expression.
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Article published online ahead of print. Article and publication date are online at http://www.genesdev.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gad.325142.119.
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