Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Seila AC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2692996 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Science (New York, N.Y.) 20081204 5909
Transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) is thought to occur unidirectionally from most genes. Here, we present evidence of widespread divergent transcription at protein-encoding gene promoters. Transcription start site-associated RNAs (TSSa-RNAs) nonrandomly flank active promoters, with peaks of antisense and sense short RNAs at 250 nucleotides upstream and 50 nucleotides downstream of TSSs, respectively. Northern analysis shows that TSSa-RNAs are subsets of an RNA population 20 t ...[more]