title: The Determinants of Directionality in Transcriptional Initiation.
abstract: A new paradigm has emerged in recent years characterizing transcription initiation as a bidirectional process encompassing a larger proportion of the genome than previously thought. Past concepts of coding genes thinly scattered among a vast background of transcriptionally inert noncoding DNA have been abandoned. A richer picture has taken shape, integrating transcription of coding genes, enhancer RNAs (eRNAs), and various other noncoding transcriptional events. In this review we give an overview of recent studies detailing the mechanisms of RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II)-based transcriptional initiation and discuss the ways in which transcriptional direction is established as well as its functional implications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Dia N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Bagchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Electronic address: vishy@utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Vishwanath R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Iyer
mesh_terms: D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D006801:Humans; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics*; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D012313:RNA; D012319:RNA Polymerase II
keywords: directionality; eRNA; enhancer; nucleosome-depleted region; promoter; transcriptional initiation