Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2017 Apr;18(4):263-273. doi: 10.1038/nrm.2017.10. Epub 2017 Mar 1.
The carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) extends from the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) as a long, repetitive and largely unstructured polypeptide chain. Throughout the transcription process, the CTD is dynamically modified by post-translational modifications, many of which facilitate or hinder the recruitment of key regulatory factors of Pol II that collectively constitute the 'CTD code'. Recent studies have revealed how the physicochemical properties of the CTD promote phase separation in the presence of other low-complexity domains. Here, we discuss the intricacies of the CTD code and how the newly characterized physicochemical properties of the CTD expand the function of the CTD beyond the code.
羧基末端结构域（CTD）从 RNA 聚合酶 II（Pol II）的最大亚基延伸出来，是一条长的、重复的、大部分无结构的多肽链。在整个转录过程中，CTD 被翻译后修饰动态修饰，其中许多修饰促进或阻碍了 Pol II 的关键调节因子的募集，这些因子共同构成了“CTD 密码”。最近的研究揭示了 CTD 的物理化学特性如何在存在其他低复杂度结构域的情况下促进相分离。在这里，我们讨论了 CTD 密码的复杂性，以及新表征的 CTD 的物理化学特性如何将 CTD 的功能扩展到密码之外。
