Regulation of transcription is the most common form of gene control, from bacteria to higher eukaryotes. Most of the initial efforts to study transcriptional control were focused on the preinitiation steps. However, recent evidence has demonstrated the importance of transcription elongation as the critical target of many regulatory signals. RNA polymerase II pausing or arrest is involved in a wide set of biological phenomena including response to environmental signals, development, and differentiation. In addition, covalent modification of RNA polymerase, in response to regulatory stimuli, influences the fate of mRNA by affecting cell processes that are mechanistically linked to transcription elongation.

We invite authors to submit original research articles as well as review articles exploring the different aspects of gene control during transcription elongation. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Poised RNA polymerases in development and differentiation
• Role of RNA polymerases in gene silencing
• Transcription elongation of stress-responsive genes
• Gene-specific elongation factors
• Phosphorylation and other covalent modifications of the RNA polymerase II CTD
• Role of chromatin in the regulation of transcription elongation
• Cross talk between transcription elongation and posttranscriptional control (splicing, export, and translation)

Articles published in this special issue will not be subject to the journal's Article Processing Charges.

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/gri/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: