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#Unit 3. Fundamental Processes
Shortly after transcription initiation, Pol II is paused 30 nucleotides downstream from the initiation site, waiting for the recruitment of the capping enzymes to add the cap to the 5’ end of nascent RNA. Without this protection, nascent RNA may be vulnerable to attack by 5’–3’ exonucleases, and such trimming may induce the Pol II complex to fall off of the DNA template.