Time will tell: comparing timescales to gain insight into transcriptional bursting

Trends Genet. 2024 Feb;40(2):160-174. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2023.11.003. Epub 2024 Jan 12.ABSTRACTRecent imaging studies have captured the dynamics of regulatory events of transcription inside living cells. These events include transcription factor (TF) DNA binding, chromatin remodeling and modification, enhancer-promoter (E-P) proximity, cluster formation, and preinitiation complex (PIC) assembly. Together, these molecular events culminate in stochastic bursts of RNA synthesis, but their kinetic relationship remains largely unclear. In this review, we compare the timescales of upstream regulatory steps (input) with the kinetics of transcriptional bursting (output) to generate mechanistic models of transcription dynamics in single cells. We highlight open questions and potential technical advances to guide future endeavors toward a quantitative and kinetic understanding of transcription regulation.PMID:38216391 | PMC:PMC10860890 | DOI:10.1016/j.tig.2023.11.003

Source: Trends in Genetics : TIG - January 12, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Joseph V W Meeussen Tineke L Lenstra Source Type: research