Regulation of Gene Expression and Replication Initiation by Non‐Coding Transcription: A Model Based on Reshaping Nucleosome‐Depleted Regions

RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) non‐coding transcription is now known to cover almost the entire eukaryotic genome, a phenomenon referred to as pervasive transcription. As a consequence, regions previously thought to be non‐transcribed are subject to the passage of RNAP II and its associated proteins fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BioEssays 2019-11, Vol.41 (11), p.n/a
Main Authors: Soudet, Julien, Stutz, Françoise
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chromatin
chromatin remodeler
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Depletion
DNA
DNA biosynthesis
DNA-directed RNA polymerase
Gene expression
Genomes
HDAC
histone modifications
NDR
non‐coding transcription
nucleosome
Nucleosomes
Proteins
Replication
Replication initiation
RNA polymerase
RNA polymerase II
Transcription initiation
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Summary:RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) non‐coding transcription is now known to cover almost the entire eukaryotic genome, a phenomenon referred to as pervasive transcription. As a consequence, regions previously thought to be non‐transcribed are subject to the passage of RNAP II and its associated proteins for histone modification. This is the case for the nucleosome‐depleted regions (NDRs), which provide key sites of entry into the chromatin for proteins required for the initiation of coding gene transcription and DNA replication. In this review, recent data on the effects of pervasive transcription through NDRs are summarized and a model is proposed to explain how RNAP II‐driven transcription is able to modify the nucleosomes flanking the NDRs, leading to nucleosome repositioning and NDR closure. Even though much of the mechanistic detail underlying these events remains to be elucidated, such a model provides a basis to explain how non‐coding transcription through NDRs can regulate the initiation of coding gene expression and DNA replication. Eukaryotic genomes are pervasively transcribed, mainly as non‐coding RNAs. RNA polymerase II transcription locks chromatin accessibility through directed histone modifications and nucleosome repositioning. Here, the possibility that non‐coding transcription fine‐tunes coding transcription and replication initiations by reshaping the accessibility of nucleosome‐depleted regions is explored.
ISSN:0265-9247
1521-1878
DOI:10.1002/bies.201900043