RNA Polymerase of Lymphoid Tissue: A Preliminary Characterization of the Enzyme and the RNA It Synthesizes

Abstract

One of the major problems in biology is the regulation of RNA synthesis. In eucaryotes regulation involves selective transcription of different regions of the genome in response to stimuli, varying temporally (induction and repression) and more or less permanently (differentiation and neoplastic transformation). In the most general sense, regulation can occur in two ways. Regulatory factors can determine which portions of the genome are available for transcription by a nonspecific RNA polymerase. Alternatively (or in addition) regulatory factors can act on RNA polymerase determining which portions of the DNA it transcribes.