The RNA polymerase II core promoter.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1662, USA. smale@mednet.ucla.edu

The events leading to transcription of eukaryotic protein-coding genes culminate in the positioning of RNA polymerase II at the correct initiation site. The core promoter, which can extend ~35 bp upstream and/or downstream of this site, plays a central role in regulating initiation. Specific DNA elements within the core promoter bind the factors that nucleate the assembly of a functional preinitiation complex and integrate stimulatory and repressive signals from factors bound at distal sites. Although core promoter structure was originally thought to be invariant, a remarkable degree of diversity has become apparent. This article reviews the structural and functional diversity of the RNA polymerase II core promoter.

PMID: 12651739 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]