Publication
Organization and regulation of gene transcription.
Cramer Patrick
This review examines how genes are transcribed in a regulated manner and the molecular mechanisms controlling this process. The paper synthesizes recent structural and microscopy findings to explain how RNA polymerase II initiates and elongates transcription of protein-coding genes. A key emerging model describes the formation of distinct transient condensates at gene promoters and bodies that concentrate the necessary transcription factors, with RNA polymerase II shuttling between these condensates in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. These discoveries provide a framework for understanding the organization and regulation of gene transcription, which underlies cell identity and function. The work integrates multiple experimental approaches to reveal molecular principles governing transcriptional control and suggests directions for future investigations into this fundamental cellular process.
Abstract
The regulated transcription of genes determines cell identity and function. Recent structural studies have elucidated mechanisms that govern the regulation of transcription by RNA polymerases during the initiation and elongation phases. Microscopy studies have revealed that transcription involves the condensation of factors in the cell nucleus. A model is emerging for the transcription of protein-coding genes in which distinct transient condensates form at gene promoters and in gene bodies to concentrate the factors required for transcription initiation and elongation, respectively. The transcribing enzyme RNA polymerase II may shuttle between these condensates in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. Molecular principles are being defined that rationalize transcriptional organization and regulation, and that will guide future investigations.