Mechanism and regulation of transcriptional elongation by RNA polymerase II

Over the past few years, biochemical and genetic studies have shed consider able light on the structure and function of the RNA polymerase II (pol II) elongation complex and the transcription factors that control it. Novel elo ngation factors have been identified and their mechanisms of action charact erized in increasing detail; new insights into the biological roles of elon gation factors have been gained from genetic studies of the regulation of m RNA synthesis in yeast; and intriguing links between the pol II elongation machinery-and the pathways of DNA repair and recombination have emerged.