Observing Transcription

Researchers at  Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University were able to watch, in real time, the process of gene transcription. They used florescent  proteins to track the mRNA activity by inserting DNA  sequences into a gene in live yeast cells. RNA made from these sequences bound a modified green fluorescent protein; expression of the entire gene resulted in mRNA molecules that were visible with fluorescent light. By monoriting the activity of RNA polymerase scientists were able to directly observe and measure the key steps involved in transcription: initiation, elongation, and termination.  By observing how transcription works in the cells of yeast, we are better able to determine steps of the same processes in humans. For instance, one element researches saw was that initiation was a random event. "By contrast, once initiation occurs, RNA polymerase recruits individual nucleotides for the growing mRNA molecule in an efficient and predictable manner" said Dr. Singer.