Genomic-Wide Methods to Evaluate Transcription Rates in Yeast

Gene transcription is a dynamic process in which the desired amount of an mRNA is obtained by the equilibrium between its transcription (TR) and degradation (DR) rates. The control mechanism at the RNA polymerase level primarily causes changes in TR. Despite their importance, TRs have been rarely measured. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae , we have implemented two techniques to evaluate TRs: run-on and chromatin immunoprecipitation of RNA polymerase II. These techniques allow the discrimination of the relative importance of TR and DR in gene regulation for the first time in a eukaryote.