Does the mitochondrial transcription-termination complex play an essential role in controlling differential transcription of mitochondrial DNA?

2000 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Selwood ◽  
Z. M. A. Chrzanowska-Lightowlers ◽  
R. N. Lightowlers

The mechanism of mitochondrial transcription is well documented although the method of regulation remains obscure. The mitochondrial transcription-termination complex, mTERF, holds a key position in determining the fate of heavy-strand promotor-initiated transcripts and has been suggested as a candidate in the regulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transcription. We report here the first example of a modulation of mTERF-complex binding activity concomitant with a differential mtDNA transcription rate. We suggest that these observations are indicative of a method of intra-organellar transcriptional fine tuning.

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (19) ◽  
pp. 6458-6474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne K. Hyvärinen ◽  
Jaakko L. O. Pohjoismäki ◽  
Aurelio Reyes ◽  
Sjoerd Wanrooij ◽  
Takehiro Yasukawa ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 418 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Á. Fernández-Moreno ◽  
Francesco Bruni ◽  
Cristina Adán ◽  
Rosana HERNÁNDEZ Sierra ◽  
Paola LOGUERCIO Polosa ◽  
...  

The DREF [DRE (DNA replication-related element)-binding factor], which regulates the transcription of a group of cell proliferation-related genes in Drosophila, also controls the expression of three genes involved in mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) replication and maintenance. In the present study, by in silico analysis, we have identified DREs in the promoter region of a gene participating in mtDNA transcription, the DmTTF (Drosophila mitochondrial transcription termination factor). Transient transfection assays in Drosophila S2 cells, with mutated versions of DmTTF promoter region, showed that DREs control DmTTF transcription; moreover, gel-shift and ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation) assays demonstrated that the analysed DRE sites interact with DREF in vitro and in vivo. Accordingly, DREF knock-down in S2 cells by RNAi (RNA interference) induced a considerable decrease in DmTTF mRNA level. These results clearly demonstrate that DREF positively controls DmTTF expression. On the other hand, mtRNApol (mitochondrial RNA polymerase) lacks DREs in its promoter and is not regulated in vivo by DREF. In situ RNA hybridization studies showed that DmTTF was transcribed almost ubiquitously throughout all stages of Drosophila embryogenesis, whereas mtRNApol was efficiently transcribed from stages 11–12. Territories where transcription occurred mostly were the gut and Malpighi tubes for DmTTF, and the gut, mesoderm, pharyngeal muscle and Malpighi tubes for mtRNApol. The partial overlapping in the temporal and spatial mRNA expression patterns confirms that transcription of the two genes is differentially regulated during embryogenesis and suggests that DmTTF might play multiple roles in the mtDNA transcription process, for which different levels of the protein with respect to mtRNApol are required.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (14) ◽  
pp. 7502-7517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna V Kotrys ◽  
Dominik Cysewski ◽  
Sylwia D Czarnomska ◽  
Zbigniew Pietras ◽  
Lukasz S Borowski ◽  
...  

AbstractMaintenance of mitochondrial gene expression is crucial for cellular homeostasis. Stress conditions may lead to a temporary reduction of mitochondrial genome copy number, raising the risk of insufficient expression of mitochondrial encoded genes. Little is known how compensatory mechanisms operate to maintain proper mitochondrial transcripts levels upon disturbed transcription and which proteins are involved in them. Here we performed a quantitative proteomic screen to search for proteins that sustain expression of mtDNA under stress conditions. Analysis of stress-induced changes of the human mitochondrial proteome led to the identification of several proteins with poorly defined functions among which we focused on C6orf203, which we named MTRES1 (Mitochondrial Transcription Rescue Factor 1). We found that the level of MTRES1 is elevated in cells under stress and we show that this upregulation of MTRES1 prevents mitochondrial transcript loss under perturbed mitochondrial gene expression. This protective effect depends on the RNA binding activity of MTRES1. Functional analysis revealed that MTRES1 associates with mitochondrial RNA polymerase POLRMT and acts by increasing mitochondrial transcription, without changing the stability of mitochondrial RNAs. We propose that MTRES1 is an example of a protein that protects the cell from mitochondrial RNA loss during stress.


Mitochondrion ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 240
Author(s):  
Deborah L. Croteau ◽  
Anne-Cécile V. Bayne ◽  
Chandrika Canugovi ◽  
Scott Maynard ◽  
Nadja de Souza-Pinto ◽  
...  

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1951-1961
Author(s):  
M A Parisi ◽  
B Xu ◽  
D A Clayton

Human mitochondrial transcription factor A is a 25-kDa protein that binds immediately upstream of the two major mitochondrial promoters, thereby leading to correct and efficient initiation of transcription. Although the nature of yeast mitochondrial promoters is significantly different from that of human promoters, a potential functional homolog of the human transcriptional activator protein has been previously identified in yeast mitochondria. The importance of the yeast protein in yeast mitochondrial DNA function has been shown by inactivation of its nuclear gene (ABF2) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells resulting in loss of mitochondrial DNA. We report here that the nuclear gene for human mitochondrial transcription factor A can be stably expressed in yeast cells devoid of the yeast homolog protein. The human protein is imported efficiently into yeast mitochondria, is processed correctly, and rescues the loss-of-mitochondrial DNA phenotype in a yeast abf2 strain, thus functionally substituting for the yeast protein. Both human and yeast proteins affect yeast mitochondrial transcription initiation in vitro, suggesting that the two proteins may have a common role in this fundamental process.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 3262-3267
Author(s):  
D D Chang ◽  
D A Clayton

Transcription of the heavy strand of mouse mitochondrial DNA starts from two closely spaced, distinct sites located in the displacement loop region of the genome. We report here an analysis of regulatory sequences required for faithful transcription from these two sites. Data obtained from in vitro assays demonstrated that a 51-base-pair region, encompassing nucleotides -40 to +11 of the downstream start site, contains sufficient information for accurate transcription from both start sites. Deletion of the 3' flanking sequences, including one or both start sites to -17, resulted in the initiation of transcription by the mitochondrial RNA polymerase from alternative sites within vector DNA sequences. This feature places the mouse heavy-strand promoter uniquely among other known mitochondrial promoters, all of which absolutely require cognate start sites for transcription. Comparison of the heavy-strand promoter with those of other vertebrate mitochondrial DNAs revealed a remarkably high rate of sequence divergence among species.


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