Mammalian Genes Transcription.

© 2011 digital-photography-school.com

© 2011 digital-photography-school.com

Mammalian Genes Are Transcribed with Widely Different Bursting Kinetics.

In prokaryotes and eukaryotes, most genes appear to be transcribed during short periods called transcriptional bursts, interspersed by silent intervals. The team of Prof. Felix Naef (Computational Systems Biology lab), together with researchers of the Universities of Geneva and Lausanne, describe how such bursts generate gene-specific temporal patterns of mRNA synthesis in mammalian cells. Their analysis demonstrated that bursting kinetics are highly genespecific, reflecting refractory periods during which genes stay inactive for a certain time before switching on again.

David M. Suter et al., Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1198817 (2011)