Transcriptional pausing without backtracking

Ubiquitous Transcriptional Pausing Is Independent of RNA Polymerase Backtracking

RNA polymerase (RNAP) transcribes DNA discontinuously, with periods of rapid nucleotide addition punctuated by frequent pauses. We investigated the mechanism of transcription by measuring the effect of both hindering and assisting forces on the translocation of single Escherichia coli transcription elongation complexes, using an optical trapping apparatus that allows for the detection of pauses...

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

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 R...

Splitting Without Backtracking

Choices without Backtracking

ly, one possiblc3 mode of interaction bctwccn the the problLm solver and the dntn base is as follows. A list is maintained of c~cry ;\ssumptioll set disco\rcrcd to bc contradictory. Whcncvcr the problem solver discovers Iwo val~~cs with contt.adictr~ry assumptions, the combined assumption set is placed on this list, and cvcry vaIlIC b,iscd on it or any of its super sets is crascd from the daL\ ...

Transcriptional Pausing Caught in the Act

Single-molecule techniques now permit the tracking of a transcription complex along a DNA template in real time and to 1 bp resolution. As reported in this issue of Cell, Herbert et al. (2006) exploit this approach to study a central component of transcription regulation, the sequence-dependent pausing of RNA polymerase during transcript elongation.