The synthesis of an RNA copy from a nucleotide sequence in a limited region of DNA. See also deoxyribonucleic acid and transcriptase.
- t.-control region — the cis-acting DNA sequences regulating transcription of a specific gene.
- t. factor (TF) — a general term for any protein, other than RNA polymerase, required to initiate or regulate transcription in eukaryotic cells. General TFs are involved in the formation of the transcription-preinitiation complexes near the start site and are required for transcription of all genes; specific TFs stimulate (activators) or inhibit (suppressors) transcription of particular genes by binding to their regulatory sequences.
- nested set t. — a hallmark of the replication strategy of coronaviruses, toroviruses and arteriviruses, in which a nested set of subgenomic mRNAs are generated having identical 5′-leader sequences and a common 3′-termini, but because of discontinuous transcription each mRNA has a unique coding sequence and is transcribed into a unique viral protein.
- reverse t. — the synthesis of a DNA copy from a RNA template, catalyzed by reverse transcriptase.
- t. unit — see operon.
