ArticleNature structural & molecular biology2025
A conserved coupling of transcriptional ON and OFF periods underlies bursting dynamics.
Article in Nature structural & molecular biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Using the simple telegraph model to decipher transcriptional burst regulation across genome-wide data.iScience · 2026Article
- Invariant nonequilibrium dynamics in gene regulation optimize information flow.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Live-cell imaging of enhancer-promoter dynamics reveals transient contact-driven gene activation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Highly Constrained Kinetic Models for Single-Cell Gene Expression Analysis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Comprehensive Single Molecule View of Transcriptional Dynamics in Development.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
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Abstract
Transcription commonly occurs in bursts, with alternating productive (ON) and quiescent (OFF) periods determining mRNA production rates. However, how bursting dynamics regulate transcription is not well understood. Here, we conduct real-time measurements of endogenous transcriptional bursting with single-mRNA sensitivity. Using the diverse transcriptional activities present in early Drosophila embryos, we find stringent relationships between bursting parameters. Specifically, ON and OFF durations are tightly coupled, and each level of gene activity is associated with a characteristic combination of these periods. Lowly transcribing alleles primarily adjust OFF periods (burst frequency), while highly transcribing alleles tune ON periods (burst size). These relationships persist across developmental stages, body-axis positions, cis-regulatory or trans-regulatory perturbations and bursting dynamics observed in other species. Our findings suggest a mechanistic constraint that governs bursting dynamics, challenging the view that regulatory processes independently control distinct parameters.
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