Transcription factories

Abstract

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There is considerable evidence that transcription does not occur homogeneously or diffusely throughout the nucleus, but rather at a number of specialized, discrete sites termed transcription factories. The factories are composed of ~4-30 RNA polymerase molecules, and are associated with many other molecules involved in transcriptional activation and mRNA processing. Some data suggest that the polymerase molecules within a factory remain stationary relative to the transcribed DNA, which is thought to be reeled through the factory site. There is also some evidence that transcription factories could help organize chromatin and nuclear structure, contributing to both the formation of chromatin loops and the clustering of active and co-regulated genes.

Keywords

• RNA Polymerase II
• transcription
• nucleus
• gene clustering
• factory