Nuclear quality control of RNA polymerase II transcripts

Eukaryotic RNA polymerase II produces an astounding diversity of transcripts. These may need to be 5' capped, spliced, polyadenylated, and packaged with proteins before their export to the cytoplasm. Unscheduled accumulation of any RNA species can interfere with normal RNA metabolism and poses a serious hazard to cells. Yet, given the amount of primary transcripts and the complexity of the RNA maturation process, production of aberrant RNA species is unavoidable. Cells, therefore, employ nuclear RNA quality control mechanisms to rapidly degrade, actively retain, or transcriptionally silence unwanted RNAs. Pathways that monitor mRNA production are best understood and similar pathways are employed to destroy transcriptional noise. Finally, related mechanisms also contribute to gene regulation during normal growth. (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. WIREs RNA 2010 1 474-485