Transcription and RNA Polymerase II

By Mike Brunetto

Chem 406 Web Termpaper

Fall 2006

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Transcription is the first step towards gene expression. It involves creating a single-stranded mRNA from double-stranded DNA. Many different transcription factors are involved in eukaryotic transcription to help the initiation process, and many conformational changes occur in the polymerase during elongation. Recently Dr. Roger Kornberg was rewarded with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on eukaryotic transcription, and here is a description of his work and how he used his work to map out RNA polymerase and understand the process on transcription.