Regulation of RNA polymerase II activation by histone acetylation in single living cells

The interplay of histone acetylation and RNA polymerase II activity is investigated using fluorescence microscopy; acetylation of H3 at Lys 27 enhances the recruitment of a transcriptional activator and accelerates the transition of RNA polymerase II from initiation to elongation, thus indicating that histone acetylation has a causal effect on two distinct steps in transcription activation.