A Novel Tandem Reporter Quantifies RNA Polymerase II Termination in Mammalian Cells

摘要

BackgroundMaking the correct choice between transcription elongation and transcription termination is essential to the function of RNA polymerase II, and fundamental to gene expression. This choice can be influenced by factors modifying the transcription complex, factors modifying chromatin, or signals mediated by the template or transcript. To aid in the study of transcription elongation and termination we have developed a transcription elongation reporter system that consists of tandem luciferase reporters flanking a test sequence of interest. The ratio of expression from the reporters provides a measure of the relative rates of successful elongation through the intervening sequence.