When transcription goes on Holliday: Double Holliday junctions block RNA polymerase II transcription in vitro.

ABSTRACT: Non-canonical DNA structures can obstruct transcription. This transcription blockage could have various biological consequences, including genomic instability and gratuitous transcription-coupled repair. Among potential structures causing transcription blockage are Holliday junctions (HJs), which can be generated as intermediates in homologous recombination or during processing of stalled replication forks. Of particular interest is the double Holliday junction (DHJ), which contains two HJs. Topological considerations impose the constraint that the total number of helical turns in the DNA duplexes between the junctions cannot be altered as long as the flanking DNA duplexes are intact. Thus, the DHJ structure should strongly resist transient unwinding during transcription; consequently, it

SUBMITTER: Pipathsouk A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5315695 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature