News on initiation and elongation of transcription by RNA polymerase II.
Transcription by RNA polymerase II is a complex process that requires additional factors to initiate transcription at the promoters. New developments in the past year have furthered our understanding of the functions of the transcription factors and provided more insights into the mechanisms involved in the regulation of initiation and elongation of transcription. One of the most significant advances of the past year was the discovery of the involvement of the general transcription factor TFIIH in DNA excision repair. Surprisingly, studies aimed at identifying the kinase activity within TFIIH responsible for phosphorylating the carboxy-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II revealed it to be the MO15/Cdk7 kinase and its partner, cyclin H. These exciting observations suggest a paradigm for linking transcription, DNA excision repair and cell cycle progression through one pivotal factor.
Maldonado
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Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Piscataway 08854-5635, USA.
Reinberg
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D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D014157:Transcription Factors; D012319:RNA Polymerase II