The RNA polymerase II core promoter: a key component in the regulation of gene expression
- Jennifer E.F. Butler1 and
- James T. Kadonaga2,3,4
- 1Vollum Institute, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon 97201, USA; 2Section of Molecular Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
This extract was created in the absence of an abstract.
The development, growth, and survival of eukaryotic organisms require the proper regulation of tens of thousands of genes. By complex formulae that have yet to be solved, the expression of each of these thousands of genes is controlled by a wide variety of mechanisms (e.g., see Lefstin and Yamamoto 1998; Roeder 1998; Struhl 1999; Glass and Rosenfeld 2000; Lee and Young 2000; Lemon and Tjian 2000; Strahl and Allis 2000; Courey and Jia 2001; Smale 2001; White 2001; Zhang and Reinberg 2001; Emerson 2002; McKenna and O'Malley 2002; Narlikar et al. 2002; Orphanides and Reinberg 2002; West et al. 2002). In this review, we will focus on one of these regulatory components—the RNA polymerase II core promoter.
Why study the core promoter?
First, the analysis of core promoters contributes fundamental insights into the mechanisms by which transcription occurs in eukaryotes. This basic knowledge is part of the foundation of our molecular understanding of biology. Second, the cascade of events that precede the activation of transcription must eventually lead to the basal transcriptional machinery at the core promoter. In this manner, the core promoter is the ultimate target of action of all of the factors that are involved in the regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II.
What is the core promoter?
In this review, we define the core promoter as the minimal stretch of contiguous DNA sequence that is sufficient to direct accurate initiation of transcription by the RNA polymerase II machinery (for review, see Struhl 1987; Weis and Reinberg 1992; Smale 1994, 1997,2001; Smale et al. 1998; Burke et al. 1998). Typically, the core promoter encompasses the site of transcription initiation and extends either upstream or downstream for an additional ∼35 nt. Thus, in many instances, the …
