Fifty years ago, Robert Roeder and William Rutter reported the isolation of three distinct eukaryotic DNA-dependent RNA polymerases (Pol) — the nucleoplasmic Pol II and Pol III and the nucleolar Pol I — thereby showing that, in contrast to prokaryotes, eukaryotes have more than one type of RNA polymerase. In early 1970, Pierre Chambon and colleagues, and later the Rutter group, used the differential sensitivities of the three RNA polymerases to the mushroom toxin α-amanitin to further characterize the differences between them. The identification and characterization of Pol I, Pol II and Pol III ushered in an era of breakthroughs in our understanding of gene regulation in eukaryotes.

To celebrate the golden anniversary of this discovery, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology and Nature Structural & Molecular Biology present a special online collection (https://www.nature.com/collections/transcription50), which includes recent Review and Perspective articles that showcase our current understanding of transcription regulation in eukaryotes. The collection includes, among others, articles dedicated to the Pol II complex, transcription initiation and the functional diversity of promoters, transcription elongation, the interplay between transcription and genome organization, and transcription stress responses. We hope you enjoy the read!