scholarly journals Mercury Inactivates Transcription and the Generalized Transcription Factor TFB in the Archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus

2004 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 1993-1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vidula Dixit ◽  
Elisabetta Bini ◽  
Melissa Drozda ◽  
Paul Blum
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Mercuric Chloride ◽  
Sulfolobus Solfataricus ◽  
In Vitro Transcription ◽  
Mercury Toxicity ◽  
Transcription Activity ◽  
Treated Cell ◽  
Mercuric Ion ◽  
Cell Extracts

ABSTRACT Mercury has a long history as an antimicrobial agent effective against eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms. Despite its prolonged use, the basis for mercury toxicity in prokaryotes is not well understood. Archaea, like bacteria, are prokaryotes but they use a simplified version of the eukaryotic transcription apparatus. This study examined the mechanism of mercury toxicity to the archaeal prokaryote Sulfolobus solfataricus. In vivo challenge with mercuric chloride instantaneously blocked cell division, eliciting a cytostatic response at submicromolar concentrations and a cytocidal response at micromolar concentrations. The cytostatic response was accompanied by a 70% reduction in bulk RNA synthesis and elevated rates of degradation of several transcripts, including tfb-1, tfb-2, and lacS. Whole-cell extracts prepared from mercuric chloride-treated cells or from cell extracts treated in vitro failed to support in vitro transcription of 16S rRNAp and lacSp promoters. Extract-mixing experiments with treated and untreated extracts excluded the occurrence of negative-acting factors in the mercury-treated cell extracts. Addition of transcription factor B (TFB), a general transcription factor homolog of eukaryotic TFIIB, to mercury-treated cell extracts restored >50% of in vitro transcription activity. Consistent with this finding, mercuric ion treatment of TFB in vitro inactivated its ability to restore the in vitro transcription activity of TFB-immunodepleted cell extracts. These findings indicate that the toxicity of mercuric ion in S. solfataricus is in part the consequence of transcription inhibition due to TFB-1 inactivation.

The human RNA polymerase I structure reveals an HMG-like transcription factor docking domain specific to metazoans

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia L Daiß ◽  
Michael Pilsl ◽  
Kristina Straub ◽  
Andrea Bleckmann ◽  
Mona Höcherl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
In Vitro Transcription ◽  
Cellular Growth ◽  
Hmg Box ◽  
Transcription Bubble ◽  
Transcription System ◽  
Pol I ◽  
Additional Domain

Transcription of the ribosomal RNA precursor by RNA polymerase (Pol) I is a major determinant of cellular growth and dysregulation is observed in many cancer types. Here, we present the purification of human Pol I from cells carrying a genomic GFP-fusion on the largest subunit allowing the structural and functional analysis of the enzyme across species. In contrast to yeast, human Pol I carries a single-subunit stalk and in vitro transcription indicates a reduced proofreading activity. Determination of the human Pol I cryo-EM reconstruction in a close-to-native state rationalizes the effects of disease-associated mutations and uncovers an additional domain that is built into the sequence of Pol I subunit RPA1. This "dock II" domain resembles a truncated HMG-box incapable of DNA-binding which may serve as a downstream-transcription factor binding platform in metazoans. Biochemical analysis and ChIP data indicate that Topoisomerase 2a can be recruited to Pol I via the domain and cooperates with the HMG-box domain containing factor UBF. These adaptations of the metazoan Pol I transcription system may allow efficient release of positive DNA supercoils accumulating downstream of the transcription bubble.

scholarly journals Optimization of an In Vitro Transcription/Translation System Based on Sulfolobus solfataricus Cell Lysate

Archaea ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giada Lo Gullo ◽  
Rosanna Mattossovich ◽  
Giuseppe Perugino ◽  
Anna La Teana ◽  
Paola Londei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Specific Activity ◽  
Expression System ◽  
Sulfolobus Solfataricus ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
23S Rrna ◽  
Translation System ◽  
Cell Lysate ◽  
Cell Extracts

A system is described which permits the efficient synthesis of proteins in vitro at high temperature. It is based on the use of an unfractionated cell lysate (S30) from Sulfolobus solfataricus previously well characterized in our laboratory for translation of pretranscribed mRNAs, and now adapted to perform coupled transcription and translation. The essential element in this expression system is a strong promoter derived from the S. solfataricus 16S/23S rRNA-encoding gene, from which specific mRNAs may be transcribed with high efficiency. The synthesis of two different proteins is reported, including the S. solfataricus DNA-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyl-transferase protein (SsOGT), which is shown to be successfully labeled with appropriate fluorescent substrates and visualized in cell extracts. The simplicity of the experimental procedure and specific activity of the proteins offer a number of possibilities for the study of structure-function relationships of proteins.

scholarly journals Formation of an active transcription complex in the Drosophila melanogaster 5S RNA gene is dependent on an upstream region.

1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 2046-2051 ◽  
Author(s):  
A D Garcia ◽  
A M O'Connell ◽  
S J Sharp
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Rna Polymerase Iii ◽  
In Vitro Transcription ◽  
Upstream Region ◽  
Nucleotide Position ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
5S Rna ◽  
Cell Extracts

We constructed deletion-substitution and linker-scanning mutations in the 5'-flanking region of the Drosophila melanogaster 5S RNA gene. In vitro transcription of these templates in Drosophila and HeLa cell extracts revealed the presence of an essential control region (-30 region) located between nucleotides -39 and -26 upstream of the transcription initiation site: deletion of sequences upstream of nucleotide position -39 had no detectable effect on the wild-type level of in vitro transcription, whereas mutations extending between positions -39 and 1 resulted in templates with decreased transcriptional levels; specifically, deletion and linker-scanning mutations in the -34 to -26 region (-30 region) resulted in loss of transcription. The -30 region is essential for transcription and therefore forms part of the Drosophila 5S RNA gene transcription promoter. Compared with the activity of the wild-type gene, mutant 5S DNAs exhibited no impairment in the ability to sequester limiting transcription factors in a template exclusion competition assay. While we do not know which transcription factor(s) interacts with the -30 region, the possible involvement of RNA polymerase III at this region is discussed.

Leucine zipper domain of 52 kDa SS-A/Ro promotes protein dimer formation and inhibits in vitro transcription activity

2001 ◽  
Vol 1568 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dunrui Wang ◽  
Jill P Buyon ◽  
Zheng Yang ◽  
Francis Di Donato ◽  
Maria Eugenia Miranda-Carus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leucine Zipper ◽  
In Vitro Transcription ◽  
Dimer Formation ◽  
Transcription Activity ◽  
Leucine Zipper Domain ◽  
Protein Dimer

scholarly journals Downstream promoter interactions of TFIID TAFs facilitate transcription reinitiation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoo Jin Joo ◽  
Scott B. Ficarro ◽  
Luis M. Soares ◽  
Yujin Chun ◽  
Jarrod A. Marto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
In Vitro Transcription ◽  
Tata Binding Protein ◽  
Transcription Reinitiation ◽  
Promoter Dna ◽  
Basal Transcription Factors ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient

AbstractTFIID binds promoter DNA to recruit RNA polymerase II and other basal factors for transcription. Although the TATA-Binding Protein (TBP) subunit of TFIID is necessary and sufficient for in vitro transcription, the TBP-Associated Factor (TAF) subunits recognize downstream promoter elements, act as co-activators, and interact with nucleosomes. Here we show that transcription induces stable TAF binding to downstream promoter DNA, independent of upstream contacts, TBP, or other basal transcription factors. This transcription-dependent TAF complex promotes subsequent activator-independent transcription, and promoter response to TAF mutations in vivo correlates with the level of downstream, rather than overall, Taf1 crosslinking. We propose a new model in which TAFs function as reinitiation factors, accounting for the differential responses of promoters to various transcription factor mutations.

Eucaryotic transcription complexes are specifically associated in large sedimentable structures: rapid isolation of polymerase I, II, and III transcription factors

1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 1582-1590
Author(s):  
V C Culotta ◽  
R J Wides ◽  
B Sollner-Webb
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Dna Polymerase ◽  
In Vitro Transcription ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
S 100 ◽  
Major Late Promoter ◽  
Transcription Complexes ◽  
Polymerase I

RNA synthesis in eucaryotes takes place on template molecules that are activated by stably associating with limiting transcription factors. In this paper we demonstrate that such stable transcription complexes can be specifically sedimented from in vitro transcription reaction mixtures by mild centrifugation. This occurs with stable complexes of genes transcribed by all three classes of eucaryotic RNA polymerase and with S-100 as well as whole-cell extracts. However, the transcriptional capacity of the isolated complex differs for the three polymerase classes. The pelleted ribosomal DNA (polymerase I) complex contains all the factors necessary for transcription, each purified 25- to 50-fold, whereas the pelleted adenovirus major late promoter (polymerase II) complex lacks a factor that remains in the supernatant. In the case of 5S DNA (polymerase III), a necessary factor associates slowly with the sedimentable complex. Notably, the interactions responsible for this rapid sedimentation are specific for DNA molecules in stable complexes, suggesting that the in vitro sedimentable complex mirrors the in vivo structural organization of active genes.

Characterization of the mouse metal-regulatory-element-binding proteins, metal element protein-1 and metal regulatory transcription factor-1

2001 ◽  
Vol 353 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier LAROCHELLE ◽  
Gale STEWART ◽  
Pierre MOFFATT ◽  
Véronique TREMBLAY ◽  
Carl SÉGUIN
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Binding Activity ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Rnase Protection ◽  
Dna Binding Activity ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
Metal Element ◽  
Transcription Factor 1

Metal activation of metallothionein gene transcription depends mainly on the presence of regulatory DNA sequences termed metal-regulatory elements (MREs) and involves MRE-binding transcription factor-1 (MTF-1) interacting with the MREs in a Zn2+-dependent manner. We previously identified and characterized a nuclear protein, termed metal element protein-1 (MEP-1), specifically binding with high affinity to MRE elements. The precise relationship between MTF-1 and MEP-1 was unclear, and to determine whether MEP-1 and MTF-1 were distinct protein species, we performed DNA binding analyses to characterize the binding properties of both proteins. Electrophoretic mobility-shift assays showed that MTF-1, produced in COS cells, produces a slower-migrating band compared with that obtained with purified MEP-1. Using an anti-MTF-1 antibody, we showed that both the MTF-1–MRE and the MEP-1–MRE complexes are supershifted by an anti-MTF-1 antibody, thus demonstrating that MEP-1 is antigenically related to MTF-1. RNase protection analyses carried out with RNA prepared from different tissues and cell lines failed to reveal the presence of MTF-1 splicing variants. This indicates that MEP-1 may be a proteolytic fragment of MTF-1. MTF-1 DNA-binding activity was rapidly activated in vivo by Zn2+ ions but not by Cd2+, UV irradiation or PMA, and occurred on ice as well as at 21°C. In control and Zn2+-treated cell extracts, DNA-binding activity was not enhanced in vitro following the addition of exogenous Zn2+ or a preincubation at 37°C. However, recombinant MTF-1 produced in vitro required Zn2+ activation for DNA binding. Interestingly, treatment of nuclear extracts with calf intestine phosphatase completely abrogated MTF-1 DNA-binding activity, thus suggesting that phosphorylation is involved in the regulation of MTF-1 activity.

scholarly journals In Vitro Processing of the 16S rRNA of the Thermophilic Archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus

2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (13) ◽  
pp. 3866-3874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Ciammaruconi ◽  
Paola Londei
Keyword(s):  
16S Rrna ◽  
Sulfolobus Solfataricus ◽  
Conserved Sequence ◽  
Processing Enzymes ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
In Vitro Processing ◽  
16S Rna ◽  
Thermophilic Archaeon ◽  
Rna Maturation

ABSTRACT In this paper we have analyzed the processing in vitro of the 16S rRNA of the thermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus, using pre-rRNA substrates transcribed in vitro and different protein preparations as the source of processing enzymes. We show that the 5′ external transcribed spacer of the S. solfataricus pre-rRNA transcript contains a target site for a specific endonuclease, which recognizes a conserved sequence also existing in the early A0 and 0 processing sites of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and vertebrates. This site is present in other members of the kingdomCrenarchaeota but apparently not in theEuryarchaeota. Furthermore, S. solfataricuspre-16S RNA is processed within the double-helical stem formed by the inverted repeats flanking the 16S RNA sequence, in correspondence with a bulge-helix-bulge motif. The endonuclease responsible for this cleavage is present in both the Crenarchaeota and theEuryarchaeota. The processing pattern remained the same when the substrate was a 30S ribonucleoprotein particle instead of the naked RNA. Maturation of either the 5′ or the 3′ end of the 16S RNA molecule was not observed, suggesting either that maturation requires conditions not easily reproducible in vitro or that the responsible endonucleases are scarcely represented in cell extracts.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document