Isolation and characterization of transcription fidelity mutants.

ABSTRACT: Accurate transcription is an essential step in maintaining genetic information. Error-prone transcription has been proposed to contribute to cancer, aging, adaptive mutagenesis, and mutagenic evolution of retroviruses and retrotransposons. The mechanisms controlling transcription fidelity and the biological consequences of transcription errors are poorly understood. Because of the transient nature of mRNAs and the lack of reliable experimental systems, the identification and characterization of defects that increase transcription errors have been particularly challenging. In this review we describe novel genetic screens for the isolation of fidelity mutants in both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli RNA polymerases. We obtained and characterized two distinct classes of mutants a

SUBMITTER: Strathern JN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7511983 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature