The calcium ion (Ca2+) is a key intracellular signaling molecule with 
far-reaching effects on many cellular processes. One of the most important such 
Ca2+ regulated processes is transcription. A body of literature describes the 
effect of Ca2+ signaling on transcription initiation as occurring mainly through 
activation of gene-specific transcription factors by Ca2+-induced signaling 
cascades. However, the reach of Ca2+ extends far beyond the first step of 
transcription. In fact, Ca2+ can regulate all phases of transcription, with 
additional effects on transcription-associated events such as alternative 
splicing. Importantly, Ca2+ signaling mediates reduced transcription termination 
in response to certain stress conditions. This reduction allows readthrough 
transcription, generating a highly inducible and diverse class of downstream of 
gene containing transcripts (DoGs) that we have recently described.