A primary transcript is the single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) product synthesized by transcription of DNA, and processed to yield various mature RNA products such as mRNAs, tRNAs, and rRNAs. The primary transcripts designated to be mRNAs are modified in preparation for translation. For example, a precursor mRNA (pre-mRNA) is a type of primary transcript that becomes a messenger RNA (mRNA) after processing. Pre-mRNA is synthesized from a DNA template in the cell nucleus by transcription. Pre-mRNA comprises the bulk of heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA). Once pre-mRNA has been completely processed, it is termed "mature messenger RNA", or simply "messenger RNA". The term hnRNA is often used as a synonym for pre-mRNA, although, in the strict sense, hnRNA may include nuclear RNA transcripts that do not end up as cytoplasmic mRNA. There are several steps contributing to the production of primary transcripts. All these steps involve a series of interactions to initiate and complete the transcription of DNA in the nucleus of eukaryotes. Certain factors play key roles in the activation and inhibition of transcription, where they regulate primary transcript production. Transcription produces primary transcripts that are further modified by several processes. These processes include the 5' cap, 3'-polyadenylation, and alternative splicing. In particular, alternative splicing directly contributes to the diversity of mRNA found in cells. The modifications of primary transcripts have been further studied in research seeking greater knowledge of the role and significance of these transcripts. Experimental studies based on molecular changes to primary transcripts and the processes before and after transcription have led to greater understanding of diseases involving primary transcripts.
Production
The steps contributing to the production of primary transcripts involve a series of molecular interactions that initiate transcription of DNA within a cell's nucleus. Based on the needs of a given cell, certain DNA sequences are transcribed to produce a variety of RNA products to be translated into functional proteins for cellular use. To initiate the transcription process in a cell's nucleus, DNA double helices are unwound and hydrogen bonds connecting compatible nucleic acids of DNA are broken to produce two unconnected single DNA strands. One strand of the DNA template is used for transcription of the single-stranded primary transcript mRNA. This DNA strand is bound by an RNA polymerase at the promoter region of the DNA.
In eukaryotes, three kinds of RNA—rRNA, tRNA, and mRNA—are produced based on the activity of three distinct RNA polymerases, whereas, in prokaryotes, only one RNA polymerase exists to create all kinds of RNA molecules. RNA polymerase II of eukaryotes transcribes the primary transcript, a transcript destined to be processed into mRNA, from the antisense DNA template in the 5' to 3' direction, and this newly synthesized primary transcript is complementary to the antisense strand of DNA. RNA polymerase II constructs the primary transcript using a set of four specific ribonucleoside monophosphate residues (adenosine monophosphate (AMP), cytidine monophosphate (CMP), guanosine monophosphate (GMP), and uridine monophosphate (UMP)) that are added continuously to the 3' hydroxyl group on the 3' end of the growing mRNA. Studies of primary transcripts produced by RNA polymerase II reveal that an average primary transcript is 7,000 nucleotides in length, with some growing as long as 20,000 nucleotides in length. The inclusion of both exon and intron sequences within primary transcripts explains the size difference between larger primary transcripts and smaller, mature mRNA ready for translation into protein.
Regulation A number of factors contribute to the activation and inhibition of transcription and therefore regulate the production of primary transcripts from a given DNA template.
Activation of RNA polymerase activity to produce primary transcripts is often controlled by sequences of DNA called enhancers. Transcription factors, proteins that bind to DNA elements to either activate or repress transcription, bind to enhancers and recruit enzymes that alter nucleosome components, causing DNA to be either more or less accessible to RNA polymerase. The unique combinations of either activating or inhibiting transcription factors that bind to enhancer DNA regions determine whether or not the gene that enhancer interacts with is activated for transcription or not. Activation of transcription depends on whether or not the transcription elongation complex, itself consisting of a variety of transcription factors, can induce RNA polymerase to dissociate from the Mediator complex that connects an enhancer region to the promoter. Inhibition of RNA polymerase activity can also be regulated by DNA sequences called silencers. Like enhancers, silencers may be located at locations farther up or downstream from the genes they regulate. These DNA sequences bind to factors that contribute to the destabilization of the initiation complex required to activate RNA polymerase, and therefore inhibit transcription. Histone modification by transcription factors is another key regulatory factor for transcription by RNA polymerase. In general, factors that lead to histone acetylation activate transcription while factors that lead to histone deacetylation inhibit transcription. Acetylation of histones induces repulsion between negative components within nucleosomes, allowing for RNA polymerase access. Deacetylation of histones stabilizes tightly coiled nucleosomes, inhibiting RNA polymerase access. In addition to acetylation patterns of histones, methylation patterns at promoter regions of DNA can regulate RNA polymerase access to a given template. RNA polymerase is often incapable of synthesizing a primary transcript if the targeted gene's promoter region contains specific methylated cytosines— residues that hinder binding of transcription-activating factors and recruit other enzymes to stabilize a tightly bound nucleosome structure, excluding access to RNA polymerase and preventing the production of primary transcripts.
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