title: Eukaryotic transcriptional dynamics: from single molecules to cell populations.
abstract: Transcriptional regulation is achieved through combinatorial interactions between regulatory elements in the human genome and a vast range of factors that modulate the recruitment and activity of RNA polymerase. Experimental approaches for studying transcription in vivo now extend from single-molecule techniques to genome-wide measurements. Parallel to these developments is the need for testable quantitative and predictive models for understanding gene regulation. These conceptual models must also provide insight into the dynamics of transcription and the variability that is observed at the single-cell level. In this Review, we discuss recent results on transcriptional regulation and also the models those results engender. We show how a non-equilibrium description informs our view of transcription by explicitly considering time- and energy-dependence at the molecular level.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biological Modeling, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coulon
authors.forename: Carson C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Larson
mesh_terms: D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D014157:Transcription Factors; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases