Work

Sequence-specific thermodynamic properties of nucleic acids influence both transcriptional pausing and backtracking in yeast

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: RNA Polymerase II pauses and backtracks during transcription, with many consequences for gene expression and cellular physiology. Here, we show that the energy required to melt double-stranded nucleic acids in the transcription bubble predicts pausing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae far more accurately than nucleosome roadblocks do. In addition, the same energy difference also determines when the RNA polymerase backtracks instead of continuing to move forward. This data-driven model corroborates-in a genome wide and quantitative manner-previous evidence that sequence-dependent thermodynamic features of nucleic acids influence both transcriptional pausing and backtracking.

Source: PLoS ONE

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174066

Authors: Martin Lukačišin, Matthieu Landon, Rishi Jajoo

Institutions: Harvard University, Institute of Science and Technology Austria, École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris

Language: English

Topic: Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,829

Funders: Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research, Lynch Foundation, National Institutes of Health