title: Transcription of the kinetoplastid spliced leader RNA gene.
abstract: In recent years, much has been learned about the cis-elements controlling transcription of the kinetoplastid spliced leader (SL) RNA gene. The SL RNA gene contains the first 39 nucleotides that are trans-spliced on to all nuclear-derived mRNAs in these organisms. Transcription initiation is determined by two precisely spaced upstream elements and transcription termination is directed by the downstream poly-T tract, although the RNA polymerase responsible for SL RNA synthesis is still questioned. In this article, David Campbell, Nancy Sturm and Michael Yu review the field of kinetoplastid SL RNA gene transcription, address past proposals in light of current data and discuss some of the differences that appear in the literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1747, USA. dc@ucla.edu
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: N R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Sturm
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000546:Amanitins / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D016830:Kinetoplastida / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D020038:RNA, Spliced Leader / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D020040:Trans-Splicing / Q000235:genetics; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000546:Amanitins; D020038:RNA, Spliced Leader; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases