# Promoter-proximal pausing enables transcriptional buffering of RNA polymerase II availability

Source: [cell.com](https://www.cell.com/molecular-cell/fulltext/S1097-2765(26)00740-9?rss=yes) · 2026-11-09 · Life
Page: https://themorning.science/story/promoter-proximal-pausing-enables-transcriptional-buffering-of-rna-polymerase-ii-c3d37e64dd54e8af
Kind: research · Impact: medium

## In brief

- Olthof et al. titrated cellular RPB1 levels and found that transcription is surprisingly sensitive to RNA polymerase II dosage.
- Genes differ widely in how sensitive they are to RNA polymerase II dosage.
- Genes involved in transcriptional maintenance are typically dosage insensitive.

## Why it matters

The study describes how cells can buffer changes in RNA polymerase II availability, which bears on how gene expression is regulated across genes with different sensitivities.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-09: Study published in Molecular Cell

## Coverage

- [Promoter-proximal pausing enables transcriptional buffering of RNA polymerase II availability](https://www.cell.com/molecular-cell/fulltext/S1097-2765(26)00740-9?rss=yes) — cell.com, 2026-11-09

Tags: transcription, rna polymerase ii, promoter-proximal pausing, gene expression, rpb1

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science