Eukaryotic Transcription Initiation and Elongation Mechanisms

Dear Colleagues,

Transcription is one of the major DNA metabolisms and the first step of gene expression. It is a vigorous and dynamic process involving many transcription factors and nucleic acids to synthesize RNA molecules complementary to one of DNA double strands. In eukaryotic transcription, the enzyme activity and processivity of RNA polymerase II are regulated by a number of general and gene-specific transcriptional activators, repressors, and nucleosome modifiers. In recent years, RNA polymerase II promoter-proximal pausing in the early transcriptional elongation stage has been found to be an additional, major rate-limiting step along with the abortive initiation and promoter escape for productive transcription in metazoan cells. This issue aims to discuss the newly found transcription regulatory mechanisms during transcription initiation and elongation. In addition, genomic instability associated with transcriptional initiation and elongation in stimulus-inducible genes has been highlighted in recent studies. A DNA break that can introduce mutations to DNA and genes may be pathological and inherited and is thus overall an unwanted event. In addition to the R-loop instability and collision of replication–transcription machineries, instantaneous DNA break by topoisomerases is also required and spontaneously generated during transcription. Topoisomerases-mediated DNA break and genomic instability during transcription require collaboration and crosstalk between transcription and DNA repair factors, which is a relatively new research area, largely unknown. This issue discusses the mechanisms of DNA break and repair as well as the regulation of topoisomerases during transcription and gene expression.

Dr. Heeyoun Bunch
Dr. Stuart K. Calderwood
Dr. Benjamin P C Chen
Guest Editors

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• Transcription initiation
• Transcription elongation
• RNA polymerase II
• RNA polymerase II promoter-proximal pausing
• Topoisomerase I
• Topoisomerase II
• Transcription-mediated genomic instability
• Transcription-coupled DNA damage response signaling
• Gene expression regulation