scholarly journals Activity of chimeric U small nuclear RNA (snRNA)/mRNA genes in transfected protoplasts of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia: U snRNA 3'-end formation and transcription initiation can occur independently in plants.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 6403-6415 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Connelly ◽  
W Filipowicz
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Gene Promoter ◽  
Nicotiana Plumbaginifolia ◽  
Gene Promoters ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
U2 Snrna ◽  
Snrna Gene

Formation of the 3' ends of RNA polymerase II (Pol II)-specific U small nuclear RNAs (U snRNAs) in vertebrate cells is dependent upon transcription initiation from the U snRNA gene promoter. Moreover, U snRNA promoters are unable to direct the synthesis of functional polyadenylated mRNAs. In this work, we have investigated whether U snRNA 3'-end formation and transcription initiation are also coupled in plants. We have first characterized the requirements for 3'-end formation of an Arabidopsis U2 snRNA expressed in transfected protoplasts of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia. We found that the 3'-end-adjacent sequence CA (N)3-10AGTNNAA, conserved in plant Pol II-specific U snRNA genes, is essential for the 3'-end formation of U2 transcripts and, similar to the vertebrate 3' box, is highly tolerant to mutation. The 3'-flanking regions of an Arabidopsis U5 and a maize U2 snRNA gene can effectively substitute for the Arabidopsis U2 3'-end formation signal, indicating that these signals are functionally equivalent among different Pol II-transcribed snRNA genes. The plant U snRNA 3'-end formation signal can be recognized irrespective of whether transcription initiation occurs at U snRNA or mRNA gene promoters, although efficiency of 3' box utilization is higher when transcription initiation occurs at the U snRNA promoter. Moreover, transcripts initiated from the U2 gene promoter can be spliced and polyadenylated. Transcription from a Pol III-specific plant U snRNA gene promoter is not compatible with polyadenylation. Finally, we reveal that initiation at a Pol II-specific plant U snRNA gene promoter can occur in the absence of the snRNA coding region and a functional snRNA 3'-end formation signal, demonstrating that these sequences play no role in determining the RNA polymerase specificity of plant U snRNA genes.

Activity of chimeric U small nuclear RNA (snRNA)/mRNA genes in transfected protoplasts of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia: U snRNA 3'-end formation and transcription initiation can occur independently in plants

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 6403-6415
Author(s):  
S Connelly ◽  
W Filipowicz
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Gene Promoter ◽  
Nicotiana Plumbaginifolia ◽  
Gene Promoters ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
U2 Snrna ◽  
Snrna Gene

Formation of the 3' ends of RNA polymerase II (Pol II)-specific U small nuclear RNAs (U snRNAs) in vertebrate cells is dependent upon transcription initiation from the U snRNA gene promoter. Moreover, U snRNA promoters are unable to direct the synthesis of functional polyadenylated mRNAs. In this work, we have investigated whether U snRNA 3'-end formation and transcription initiation are also coupled in plants. We have first characterized the requirements for 3'-end formation of an Arabidopsis U2 snRNA expressed in transfected protoplasts of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia. We found that the 3'-end-adjacent sequence CA (N)3-10AGTNNAA, conserved in plant Pol II-specific U snRNA genes, is essential for the 3'-end formation of U2 transcripts and, similar to the vertebrate 3' box, is highly tolerant to mutation. The 3'-flanking regions of an Arabidopsis U5 and a maize U2 snRNA gene can effectively substitute for the Arabidopsis U2 3'-end formation signal, indicating that these signals are functionally equivalent among different Pol II-transcribed snRNA genes. The plant U snRNA 3'-end formation signal can be recognized irrespective of whether transcription initiation occurs at U snRNA or mRNA gene promoters, although efficiency of 3' box utilization is higher when transcription initiation occurs at the U snRNA promoter. Moreover, transcripts initiated from the U2 gene promoter can be spliced and polyadenylated. Transcription from a Pol III-specific plant U snRNA gene promoter is not compatible with polyadenylation. Finally, we reveal that initiation at a Pol II-specific plant U snRNA gene promoter can occur in the absence of the snRNA coding region and a functional snRNA 3'-end formation signal, demonstrating that these sequences play no role in determining the RNA polymerase specificity of plant U snRNA genes.

scholarly journals An RNA polymerase II promoter in the hsp70 locus of Trypanosoma brucei.

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 1220-1230 ◽  
Author(s):  
M G Lee
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Reporter Gene ◽  
Intergenic Region ◽  
Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽  
Gene Promoter ◽  
Background Level ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Pol Ii

To study of structure of RNA polymerase (pol) II transcription units a nd the influence of temperature on the regulation of gene expression in Trypanosoma brucei, and hsp70 intergenic region promoter was characterized. In T. brucei, the hsp70 locus contains, from 5' to 3', a cognate hsp70-related gene (gene 1) which is separated by about 6 kb of DNA from a cluster of five identical hsp70 genes (genes 2 to 6). Transcription proceeds on the entire 23-kb locus, and polycistronic transcription occurs in hsp70 genes 2 to 6. Transcription of hsp70 genes 2 to 6 is only moderately sensitive to UV irradiation, indicating that it cannot be driven by a single far-upstream promoter, which suggests that promoters could be located in the region close to the hsp70 coding region. Transient transformations demonstrated that sequences located upstream of hsp70 gene 2 and in the intergenic region between hsp70 genes 2 and 3 are able to direct transcription of the reporter gene, the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene. The plasmid DNA driven by the hsp70 intergenic region promoter gave CAT activity approximately 85-fold above to background level. This is equivalent to approximately 1% of that derived from a CAT plasmid driven by the procyclic acidic repetitive protein gene promoter, which is controlled by RNA pol I. The hsp70 intergenic region promoter can drive alpha-amanitin-sensitive transcription at an internal position of the chromosome as well as an episome, suggesting that it is controlled by RNA pol II. However, this hsp70 intergenic region promoter, along with the 3' splice site and the 5' untranslated region of the hsp70 genes that controls the transcription of the reporter gene, cannot up-regulate the expression of the reporter gene during heat shock. This result is consistent with the previous observation that expression of the hsp70 genes in T. brucei is mainly controlled at the posttranscriptional level.

Structural Biology of RNA Polymerase II Transcription: 20 Years On

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Osman ◽  
Patrick Cramer
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Dna Lesions ◽  
Cellular Regulation ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii Transcription

Gene transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is the first step in the expression of the eukaryotic genome and a focal point for cellular regulation during development, differentiation, and responses to the environment. Two decades after the determination of the structure of Pol II, the mechanisms of transcription have been elucidated with studies of Pol II complexes with nucleic acids and associated proteins. Here we provide an overview of the nearly 200 available Pol II complex structures and summarize how these structures have elucidated promoter-dependent transcription initiation, promoter-proximal pausing and release of Pol II into active elongation, and the mechanisms that Pol II uses to navigate obstacles such as nucleosomes and DNA lesions. We predict that future studies will focus on how Pol II transcription is interconnected with chromatin transitions, RNA processing, and DNA repair.

scholarly journals Postrecruitment Regulation of RNA Polymerase II Directs Rapid Signaling Responses at the Promoters of Estrogen Target Genes

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1123-1133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miltiadis Kininis ◽  
Gary D. Isaacs ◽  
Leighton J. Core ◽  
Nasun Hah ◽  
W. Lee Kraus
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Estrogen Signaling ◽  
Gene Promoters ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Activator Proteins ◽  
Classical Models ◽  
Target Promoters

ABSTRACT Under classical models for signal-dependent transcription in eukaryotes, DNA-binding activator proteins regulate the recruitment of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) to a set of target promoters. However, recent studies, as well as our results herein, show that Pol II is widely distributed (i.e., “preloaded”) at the promoters of many genes prior to specific signaling events. How Pol II recruitment and Pol II preloading fit within a unified model of gene regulation is unclear. In addition, the mechanisms through which cellular signals activate preloaded Pol II across mammalian genomes remain largely unknown. We show here that the predominant genomic outcome of estrogen signaling is the postrecruitment regulation of Pol II activity at target gene promoters, likely through specific changes in Pol II phosphorylation rather than through recruitment of Pol II to the promoters. Furthermore, we show that negative elongation factor binds to estrogen target promoters in conjunction with preloaded Pol II and represses gene expression until the appropriate signal is received. Finally, our studies reveal that the estrogen-dependent activation of preloaded Pol II facilitates rapid gene regulatory responses which play important physiological roles in regulating estrogen signaling itself. Our results reveal a broad use of postrecruitment Pol II regulation by the estrogen signaling pathway, a mode of regulation that is likely to apply to a wide variety of signal-regulated pathways.

scholarly journals Sir2 Silences Gene Transcription by Targeting the Transition between RNA Polymerase II Initiation and Elongation

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 3979-3994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Gao ◽  
David S. Gross
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Transcriptional Silencing ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Initiation Factors ◽  
Lysine Deacetylase ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Mrna Capping ◽  
Capping Enzyme

ABSTRACT It is well accepted that for transcriptional silencing in budding yeast, the evolutionarily conserved lysine deacetylase Sir2, in concert with its partner proteins Sir3 and Sir4, establishes a chromatin structure that prevents RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription. However, the mechanism of repression remains controversial. Here, we show that the recruitment of Pol II, as well as that of the general initiation factors TBP and TFIIH, occurs unimpeded to the silent HMR a 1 and HMLα1/HMLα2 mating promoters. This, together with the fact that Pol II is Ser5 phosphorylated, implies that SIR-mediated silencing is permissive to both preinitiation complex (PIC) assembly and transcription initiation. In contrast, the occupancy of factors critical to both mRNA capping and Pol II elongation, including Cet1, Abd1, Spt5, Paf1C, and TFIIS, is virtually abolished. In agreement with this, efficiency of silencing correlates not with a restriction in Pol II promoter occupancy but with a restriction in capping enzyme recruitment. These observations pinpoint the transition between polymerase initiation and elongation as the step targeted by Sir2 and indicate that transcriptional silencing is achieved through the differential accessibility of initiation and capping/elongation factors to chromatin. We compare Sir2-mediated transcriptional silencing to a second repression mechanism, mediated by Tup1. In contrast to Sir2, Tup1 prevents TBP, Pol II, and TFIIH recruitment to the HMLα1 promoter, thereby abrogating PIC formation.

scholarly journals A Nonconserved Surface of the TFIIB Zinc Ribbon Domain Plays a Direct Role in RNA Polymerase II Recruitment

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 2863-2874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas C. Tubon ◽  
William P. Tansey ◽  
Winship Herr
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Terminal Region ◽  
General Role ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Amino Terminal ◽  
Zinc Ribbon

ABSTRACT The general transcription factor TFIIB is a highly conserved and essential component of the eukaryotic RNA polymerase II (pol II) transcription initiation machinery. It consists of a single polypeptide with two conserved structural domains: an amino-terminal zinc ribbon structure (TFIIBZR) and a carboxy-terminal core (TFIIBCORE). We have analyzed the role of the amino-terminal region of human TFIIB in transcription in vivo and in vitro. We identified a small nonconserved surface of the TFIIBZR that is required for pol II transcription in vivo and for different types of basal pol II transcription in vitro. Consistent with a general role in transcription, this TFIIBZR surface is directly involved in the recruitment of pol II to a TATA box-containing promoter. Curiously, although the amino-terminal human TFIIBZR domain can recruit both human pol II and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) pol II, the yeast TFIIB amino-terminal region recruits yeast pol II but not human pol II. Thus, a critical process in transcription from many different promoters—pol II recruitment—has changed in sequence specificity during eukaryotic evolution.

scholarly journals The Myc Transactivation Domain Promotes Global Phosphorylation of the RNA Polymerase II Carboxy-Terminal Domain Independently of Direct DNA Binding

2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 2059-2073 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria H. Cowling ◽  
Michael D. Cole
Keyword(s):  
Dna Binding ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Transactivation Domain ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Terminal Domain ◽  
Ctd Phosphorylation

ABSTRACT Myc is a transcription factor which is dependent on its DNA binding domain for transcriptional regulation of target genes. Here, we report the surprising finding that Myc mutants devoid of direct DNA binding activity and Myc target gene regulation can rescue a substantial fraction of the growth defect in myc −/− fibroblasts. Expression of the Myc transactivation domain alone induces a transcription-independent elevation of the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) C-terminal domain (CTD) kinases cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) and CDK9 and a global increase in CTD phosphorylation. The Myc transactivation domain binds to the transcription initiation sites of these promoters and stimulates TFIIH binding in an MBII-dependent manner. Expression of the Myc transactivation domain increases CDK mRNA cap methylation, polysome loading, and the rate of translation. We find that some traditional Myc transcriptional target genes are also regulated by this Myc-driven translation mechanism. We propose that Myc transactivation domain-driven RNA Pol II CTD phosphorylation has broad effects on both transcription and mRNA metabolism.

scholarly journals Live-cell single particle imaging reveals the role of RNA polymerase II in histone H2A.Z eviction

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anand Ranjan ◽  
Vu Q Nguyen ◽  
Sheng Liu ◽  
Jan Wisniewski ◽  
Jee Min Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
General Mechanism ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Promoter Escape ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Particle Imaging

The H2A.Z histone variant, a genome-wide hallmark of permissive chromatin, is enriched near transcription start sites in all eukaryotes. H2A.Z is deposited by the SWR1 chromatin remodeler and evicted by unclear mechanisms. We tracked H2A.Z in living yeast at single-molecule resolution, and found that H2A.Z eviction is dependent on RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) and the Kin28/Cdk7 kinase, which phosphorylates Serine 5 of heptapeptide repeats on the carboxy-terminal domain of the largest Pol II subunit Rpb1. These findings link H2A.Z eviction to transcription initiation, promoter escape and early elongation activities of Pol II. Because passage of Pol II through +1 nucleosomes genome-wide would obligate H2A.Z turnover, we propose that global transcription at yeast promoters is responsible for eviction of H2A.Z. Such usage of yeast Pol II suggests a general mechanism coupling eukaryotic transcription to erasure of the H2A.Z epigenetic signal.

scholarly journals RNA polymerase II clustering through CTD phase separation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Boehning ◽  
C. Dugast-Darzacq ◽  
M. Rankovic ◽  
A. S. Hansen ◽  
T. Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phase Separation ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Low Complexity ◽  
Initiation Factor ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
Ctd Phosphorylation

The carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase (Pol) II is an intrinsically disordered low-complexity region that is critical for pre-mRNA transcription and processing. The CTD consists of hepta-amino acid repeats varying in number from 52 in humans to 26 in yeast. Here we report that human and yeast CTDs undergo cooperative liquid phase separation at increasing protein concentration, with the shorter yeast CTD forming less stable droplets. In human cells, truncation of the CTD to the length of the yeast CTD decreases Pol II clustering and chromatin association whereas CTD extension has the opposite effect. CTD droplets can incorporate intact Pol II and are dissolved by CTD phosphorylation with the transcription initiation factor IIH kinase CDK7. Together with published data, our results suggest that Pol II forms clusters/hubs at active genes through interactions between CTDs and with activators, and that CTD phosphorylation liberates Pol II enzymes from hubs for promoter escape and transcription elongation.

scholarly journals Evidence for Eviction and Rapid Deposition of Histones upon Transcriptional Elongation by RNA Polymerase II

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (23) ◽  
pp. 10111-10117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc A. Schwabish ◽  
Kevin Struhl
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Dynamic Equilibrium ◽  
Yeast Genome ◽  
Transcriptional Elongation ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Core Histones ◽  
Histone Exchange

ABSTRACT Biochemical experiments indicate that transcriptional elongation by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is inhibited by nucleosomes and hence requires chromatin-modifying activities. Here, we examine the fate of histones upon passage of elongating Pol II in vivo. Histone density throughout the entire Saccharomyces cerevisiae GAL10 coding region is inversely correlated with Pol II association and transcriptional activity, suggesting that the elongating Pol II machinery efficiently evicts core histones from the DNA. Furthermore, new histones appear to be deposited onto DNA less than 1 min after passage of Pol II. Transcription-dependent deposition of histones requires the FACT complex that travels with elongating Pol II. Our results suggest that Pol II transcription generates a highly dynamic equilibrium of histone eviction and histone deposition and that there is significant histone exchange throughout most of the yeast genome within a single cell cycle.

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