Pol II pausing is believed to result from reversible backtracking of the Pol II enzyme complex by ~2 to 4 nucleotides. This leads to misaligned 3'-OH terminus that is unable to be an acceptor for the incoming NTPs in synthesis of next phosphodiester bond (reviewed by Shilatifard et al., 2003).
Conaway, JW, Shilatifard, A, Conaway, RC
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