Investigation of the mechanism by which novel phosphorylated RNA polymerase II-interacting factors coordinate processes required for gene expression

RNA polymerase II (Pol II) copies genetic information from DNA to RNA. The carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of Pol II is subjected to reversible phosphorylation during transcription cycle and plays an important role in gene expression. Recently, I identified a novel human protein PCIF1 as a phosphorylated CTD-interacting protein. In this study, I investigated PCIF1's function in gene expression. My data suggests that PCIF1 binds Pol II at promoter region during early phase of transcription cycle and modulates phosphorylation level of the CTD.