How eukaryotic genes are transcribed

Abstract

Regulation of eukaryotic gene expression is far more complex than one might have imagined 30 years ago. However, progress towards understanding gene regulatory mechanisms has been rapid and comprehensive, which has made the integration of detailed observations into broadly connected concepts a challenge. This review attempts to integrate the following concepts: (1) a well-defined organization of nucleosomes and modification states at most genes; (2) regulatory networks of sequence-specific transcription factors; (3) chromatin remodeling coupled to promoter assembly of the general transcription factors and RNA polymerase II; and (4) phosphorylation states of RNA polymerase II coupled to chromatin modification states during transcription. The wealth of new insights arising from the tools of biochemistry, genomics, cell biology, and genetics is providing a remarkable view into the mechanics of gene regulation.

Keywords::

• Gene regulation
• chromatin
• genome-wide
• pre-initiation complex
• histone modification
• transcription cycle
• noncoding RNA

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by NIH/NIEHS grant ES013768.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Editor: Michael M. Cox