Chromatin-associated protein complexes link DNA base J and transcription termination in Leishmania

Unlike most other eukaryotes, Leishmania and other trypanosomatid protozoa have largely eschewed transcriptional control of gene expression; relying instead on post-transcriptional regulation of mRNAs derived from polycistronic transcription units (PTUs). In these parasites, a novel modified nucleotide base (β-D-glucopyranosyloxymethyluracil) known as J plays a critical role in ensuring that transcription termination occurs only at the end of each PTU, rather than at the polyadenylation sites of individual genes. To further understand the biology of J-associated processes, we used tandem affinity purification (TAP-tagging) and mass spectrometry to reveal proteins that interact with the glucosyltransferase performing the final step in J synthesis. These studies identified four proteins reminiscent of subunits in the PTW/PP1 complex that controls transcription termination in higher eukaryotes. Moreover, bioinformatic analyses identified the DNA-binding subunit of Leishmania PTW/PP1 as a novel J-binding protein (JBP3). Down-regulation of JBP3 expression levels in Leishmania resulted in a substantial increase in transcriptional read-through at the 3’ end of most PTUs. Additional TAP-tagging experiments showed that JBP3 also associates with two other protein complexes. One consists of subunits with domains suggestive of a role in chromatin modification/remodeling; while the other contains subunits with similarity to those found in the PAF1 complex involved in regulation of transcription in other eukaryotes. Thus, trypanosomatids utilize protein complexes similar to those used to control transcription termination in other eukaryotes and JBP3 appears to function as a hub linking these modules to base J, thereby enabling the parasites’ unique reliance on polycistronic transcription and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression.