Effect of low nucleotide concentrations on abortive elongation catalysed by wheat-germ RNA polymerase II

A kinetic study of the effect of elongating nucleotide concentration on the reactions of abortive elongation catalysed by wheat-germ RNA polymerase II on a poly[d(A-T)] template suggests that the shift from abortive to productive elongation may involve the participation of at least two nucleotides, according to a mechanism very similar to that reported for Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. Experiments performed with non-complementary nucleotides with respect to the DNA template, and with substrate derivatives, allow an analysis of the substrate specificity during these reactions. Similar experiments performed with poly[d(A-A-T)].poly[d(T-T-A)] as template provide a starting point for a better understanding of the effect of DNA sequence on the rates of abortive and productive elongation catalysed by the plant enzyme.