scholarly journals The organization of open complexes between Escherichia coli RNA polymerase and DNA fragments carrying promoters either with or without consensus −35 region sequences

1990 ◽  
Vol 270 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Chan ◽  
A Spassky ◽  
S Busby
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Complex Formation ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Dna Fragments ◽  
Transcription Start ◽  
Footprint Analysis ◽  
Open Complex Formation ◽  
Promoter Dna

Transcription initiation at the Escherichia coli galP1 promoter does not depend on specific nucleotide sequences in the -35 region. Footprint analysis of transcriptionally competent complexes between E. coli RNA polymerase and DNA fragments carrying galP1 shows that RNA polymerase protects sequences as far upstream as -55, whereas sequences around the -35 region are exposed. In contrast, with galP1 derivatives carrying -35 region sequences resembling the consensus, RNA polymerase protects bases as far as -45, and the -35 region is fully protected. Taken together, our data suggest that the overall architecture of RNA polymerase-promoter complexes can vary according to whether or not consensus -35 region sequences are present; in the absence of these sequences, open complex formation requires distortion of the promoter DNA. However, the unwinding of promoter DNA around the transcription start is not affected by the nature of the -35 region sequence. With a galP1 derivative carrying point mutations in the spacer region that greatly reduce promoter activity, the protection of bases by RNA polymerase around the -10 sequence and transcription start site is reduced. In contrast, protection of the region upstream of -25 is unaffected by the spacer mutations, although sequences from -46 to -54 become hypersensitive to attack by potassium permanganate, indicating severe distortion or kinking of this zone. We suggest that, with this galP1 derivative, RNA polymerase is blocked in a complex that is an intermediate on the path to open complex formation.

scholarly journals Location of close contacts between Escherichia coli RNA polymerase and guanine residues at promoters either with or without consensus -35 region sequences

1993 ◽  
Vol 289 (3) ◽  
pp. 771-775 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Minchin ◽  
S Busby
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Complex Formation ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Detectable Effect ◽  
Guanine Residue ◽  
Transient Contact ◽  
Open Complex Formation ◽  
G 14 ◽  
Close Contacts

Methylation-interference assays have been used to identify guanine residues that make important contacts with RNA polymerase during open-complex formation at two related Escherichia coli promoters. Methylation of lower-strand G-31 at a gal consensus promoter completely prevents complex formation, while modification of upper-strand G-33 has no detectable effect. At galP1, which lacks a consensus -35 region, modification of lower-strand G-33 and upper-strand G-14 reduces, but does not prevent, complex formation. G-33 is the only guanine residue in the -35 region of galP1 where modification interferes with open-complex formation. Since this guanine residue is not protected in open complexes, we conclude that its modification causes alteration of, or interference with, a transient contact during the transcription initiation pathway.

scholarly journals Effects of distortions by A-tracts of promoter B-DNA spacer region on the kinetics of open complex formation by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase.

2003 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 909-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iwona K Kolasa ◽  
Tomasz Łoziński ◽  
Kazimierz L Wierzchowski
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Specific Interaction ◽  
Structural Data ◽  
Structural Morphology ◽  
Promoter Dna ◽  
Sigma Subunit ◽  
Kinetics Of

A-tracts in DNA due to their structural morphology distinctly different from the canonical B-DNA form play an important role in specific recognition of bacterial upstream promoter elements by the carboxyl terminal domain of RNA polymerase alpha subunit and, in turn, in the process of transcription initiation. They are only rarely found in the spacer promoter regions separating the -35 and -10 recognition hexamers. At present, the nature of the protein-DNA contacts formed between RNA polymerase and promoter DNA in transcription initiation can only be inferred from low resolution structural data and mutational and crosslinking experiments. To probe these contacts further, we constructed derivatives of a model Pa promoter bearing in the spacer region one or two An (n = 5 or 6) tracts, in phase with the DNA helical repeat, and studied the effects of thereby induced perturbation of promoter DNA structure on the kinetics of open complex (RPo) formation in vitro by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. We found that the overall second-order rate constant ka of RPo formation, relative to that at the control promoter, was strongly reduced by one to two orders of magnitude only when the A-tracts were located in the nontemplate strand. A particularly strong 30-fold down effect on ka was exerted by nontemplate A-tracts in the -10 extended promoter region, where an involvement of nontemplate TG (-14, -15) sequence in a specific interaction with region 3 of sigma-subunit is postulated. A-tracts in the latter location caused also 3-fold slower isomerization of the first closed transcription complex into the intermediate one that precedes formation of RPo, and led to two-fold faster dissociation of the latter. All these findings are discussed in relation to recent structural and kinetic models of RPo formation.

scholarly journals CarD and RbpA modify the kinetics of initial transcription and slow promoter escape of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis RNA polymerase

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (13) ◽  
pp. 6685-6698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drake Jensen ◽  
Ana Ruiz Manzano ◽  
Jayan Rammohan ◽  
Christina L Stallings ◽  
Eric A Galburt
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽  
Complex Formation ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Promoter Escape ◽  
Rate Limiting Step ◽  
Nucleotide Incorporation ◽  
Transcriptional Regulatory ◽  
Open Complex Formation ◽  
Transcriptional Regulatory Mechanisms

Abstract The pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, enacts unique transcriptional regulatory mechanisms when subjected to host-derived stresses. Initiation of transcription by the Mycobacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) has previously been shown to exhibit different open complex kinetics and stabilities relative to Escherichia coli (Eco) RNAP. However, transcription initiation rates also depend on the kinetics following open complex formation such as initial nucleotide incorporation and subsequent promoter escape. Here, using a real-time fluorescence assay, we present the first in-depth kinetic analysis of initial transcription and promoter escape for the Mtb RNAP. We show that in relation to Eco RNAP, Mtb displays slower initial nucleotide incorporation but faster overall promoter escape kinetics on the Mtb rrnAP3 promoter. Furthermore, in the context of the essential transcription factors CarD and RbpA, Mtb promoter escape is slowed via differential effects on initially transcribing complexes. Finally, based on their ability to increase the rate of open complex formation and decrease the rate of promoter escape, we suggest that CarD and RbpA are capable of activation or repression depending on the rate-limiting step of a given promoter's basal initiation kinetics.

scholarly journals Mutant Forms of Salmonella typhimuriumς54 Defective in Transcription Initiation but Not Promoter Binding Activity

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (11) ◽  
pp. 3351-3357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary T. Kelly ◽  
Timothy R. Hoover
Keyword(s):  
Complex Formation ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Atp Hydrolysis ◽  
Random Mutagenesis ◽  
Binding Activity ◽  
Mutant Proteins ◽  
Promoter Dna ◽  
Mutant Forms ◽  
Rna Polymerase Holoenzyme

ABSTRACT Transcription initiation with ς54-RNA polymerase holoenzyme (ς54-holoenzyme) has absolute requirements for an activator protein and ATP hydrolysis. ς54’s binding to core RNA polymerase and promoter DNA has been well studied, but little is known about its role in the subsequent steps of transcription initiation. Following random mutagenesis, we isolated eight mutant forms of Salmonella typhimurium ς54 that were deficient in transcription initiation but still directed ς54-holoenzyme to the promoter to form a closed complex. Four of these mutant proteins had amino acid substitutions in region I, which had been shown previously to be required for ς54-holoenzyme to respond to the activator. From the remaining mutants, we identified four residues in region III which when altered affect the function of ς54 at some point after closed-complex formation. These results suggest that in addition to its role in core and DNA binding, region III participates in one or more steps of transcription initiation that follow closed-complex formation.

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