Apparent mRNA Half-life and Transcriptional Frequency

When the RNA polymerase II temperature sensitive mutant rpb1-1 is shifted to to 37°C, the reduction in the level of each mRNA species relative to that observed in an isogenic wild type cell provides a measure of the kinetics of mRNA decay, and an apparent half-life for each mRNA species can be calculated from this data. Although the average half-life determined in this way (19 minutes) agrees well with previous estimates (17 to 23 minutes), the value determined with this approach is an approximation. The values are however useful for comparative purposes, especially with experiments performed the same way. For example, comparison of this data with that obtained for another ts factor mutant identifies the set of genes whose expression is equivalently dependent on RNA polymerase II and the factor of interest.

The apparent transcriptional frequency can be calculated from knowledge of the steady state level of each mRNA species (the transcriptome) and the half-life of that species.

Apparent mRNA Half-life and Transcriptional Frequency (alphabetical listing)

Search for data on transcript for gene X: