scholarly journals Human RNA Polymerase II Elongation in Slow Motion: Role of the TFIIF RAP74 α1 Helix in Nucleoside Triphosphate-Driven Translocation

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 3583-3595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunfen Zhang ◽  
Katie L. Zobeck ◽  
Zachary F. Burton
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transient State ◽  
Slow Motion ◽  
Nucleoside Triphosphate ◽  
Deletion Mutants ◽  
Elongation Complex ◽  
Transcription Factor Iif ◽  
Rnap Ii

ABSTRACT The role of the RAP74 α1 helix of transcription factor IIF (TFIIF) in stimulating elongation by human RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) was examined using millisecond-phase transient-state kinetics. RAP74 deletion mutants RAP74(1-227), which includes an intact α1 helix, and RAP74(1-158), in which the α1 helix is deleted, were compared. Analysis of TFIIF RAP74-RAP30 complexes carrying the RAP74(1-158) deletion reveals the role of the α1 helix because this mutant has indistinguishable activity compared to TFIIF 74(W164A), which carries a critical point mutation in α1. We report adequate two-bond kinetic simulations for the reaction in the presence of TFIIF 74(1-227) + TFIIS and TFIIF 74(1-158) + TFIIS. TFIIF 74(1-158) is defective because it fails to promote forward translocation. Deletion of the RAP74 α1 helix results in increased occupancy of the backtracking, cleavage, and restart pathways at a stall position, indicating reverse translocation of the elongation complex. During elongation, TFIIF 74(1-158) fails to support detectable nucleoside triphosphate (NTP)-driven translocation from a stall position and is notably defective in supporting bond completion (NTP-driven translocation coupled to pyrophosphate release) during the processive transition between bonds.

scholarly journals FCP1, a Phosphatase Specific for the Heptapeptide Repeat of the Largest Subunit of RNA Polymerase II, Stimulates Transcription Elongation

2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (21) ◽  
pp. 7543-7552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhrangsu S. Mandal ◽  
Helen Cho ◽  
Sungjoon Kim ◽  
Kettly Cabane ◽  
Danny Reinberg
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcription Elongation ◽  
Carboxy Terminal Domain ◽  
Transcription Factor Iif ◽  
Transcript Elongation ◽  
Rnap Ii ◽  
Carboxy Terminal

ABSTRACT FCP1, a phosphatase specific for the carboxy-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II (RNAP II), was found to stimulate transcript elongation by RNAP II in vitro and in vivo. This activity is independent of and distinct from the elongation-stimulatory activity associated with transcription factor IIF (TFIIF), and the elongation effects of TFIIF and FCP1 were found to be additive. Genetic experiments resulted in the isolation of several distinct fcp1 alleles. One of these alleles was found to suppress the slow-growth phenotype associated with either the reduction of intracellular nucleotide concentrations or the inhibition of other transcription elongation factors. Importantly, this allele of fcp1 was found to be lethal when combined individually with two mutations in the second-largest subunit of RNAP II, which had been shown previously to affect transcription elongation.

scholarly journals The RAP74 Subunit of Human Transcription Factor IIF Has Similar Roles in Initiation and Elongation

1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 8372-8382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Lei ◽  
Delin Ren ◽  
Zachary F. Burton
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Active Form ◽  
Elongation Complex ◽  
Allosteric Effector ◽  
Full Turn ◽  
Activated State ◽  
Transcription Factor Iif ◽  
Promoter Dna

ABSTRACT Transcription factor IIF (TFIIF) is a protein allosteric effector for RNA polymerase II during the initiation and elongation phases of the transcription cycle. In initiation, TFIIF induces promoter DNA to wrap almost a full turn around RNA polymerase II in a complex that includes the general transcription factors TATA-binding protein, TFIIB, and TFIIE. During elongation, TFIIF also supports a more active conformation of RNA polymerase II. This conformational model for elongation is supported by three lines of experimental evidence. First, a region within the RNA polymerase II-associating protein 74 (RAP74) subunit of TFIIF (amino acids T154 to M177), a region that is critical for isomerization of the preinitiation complex, is also critical for elongation stimulation. Amino acid substitutions within this region are shown to have very similar effects on initiation and elongation, and mutagenic analysis indicates that L155, W164, N172, I176, and M177 are the most important residues in this region for transcription. Second, TFIIF is shown to have a higher affinity for rapidly elongating RNA polymerase II than for the stalled elongation complex, indicating that RNA polymerase II alternates between active and inactive states during elongation and that TFIIF stimulates elongation by supporting the active conformational state of RNA polymerase II. The deleterious I176A substitution in the critical region of RAP74 decreases the affinity of TFIIF for the active form of the elongation complex. Third, TFIIF is shown by Arrhenius analysis to stimulate elongation by populating an activated state of RNA polymerase II.

scholarly journals Influenza Virus Infection Causes Specific Degradation of the Largest Subunit of Cellular RNA Polymerase II

2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (10) ◽  
pp. 5315-5324 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rodriguez ◽  
A. Pérez-González ◽  
A. Nieto
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Proteolytic Activity ◽  
Influenza Virus Infection ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Proteasome Pathway ◽  
Rnap Ii ◽  
Specific Degradation

ABSTRACT It has been described that influenza virus polymerase associates with RNA polymerase II (RNAP II). To gain information about the role of this interaction, we explored if changes in RNAP II occur during infection. Here we show that influenza virus causes the specific degradation of the hypophosphorylated form of the largest subunit of RNAP II without affecting the accumulation of its hyperphosphorylated forms. This effect is independent of the viral strain and the origin of the cells used. Analysis of synthesized mRNAs in isolated nuclei of infected cells indicated that transcription decreases concomitantly with RNAP II degradation. Moreover, this degradation correlated with the onset of viral transcription and replication. The ubiquitin-mediated proteasome pathway is not involved in virally induced RNAP II proteolysis. The expression of viral polymerase from its cloned cDNAs was sufficient to cause the degradation. Since the PA polymerase subunit has proteolytic activity, we tested its participation in the process. A recombinant virus that encodes a PA point mutant with decreased proteolytic activity and that has defects in replication delayed the effect, suggesting that PA's contribution to RNAP II degradation occurs during infection.

scholarly journals Role for the Ssu72 C-Terminal Domain Phosphatase in RNA Polymerase II Transcription Elongation

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 926-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariela Reyes-Reyes ◽  
Michael Hampsey
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcription Elongation ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Elongation Complex ◽  
Terminal Domain ◽  
Rnap Ii ◽  
Transcription Cycle

ABSTRACT The RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) transcription cycle is accompanied by changes in the phosphorylation status of the C-terminal domain (CTD), a reiterated heptapeptide sequence (Y1S2P3T4S5P6S7) present at the C terminus of the largest RNAP II subunit. One of the enzymes involved in this process is Ssu72, a CTD phosphatase with specificity for serine-5-P. Here we report that the ssu72-2-encoded Ssu72-R129A protein is catalytically impaired in vitro and that the ssu72-2 mutant accumulates the serine-5-P form of RNAP II in vivo. An in vitro transcription system derived from the ssu72-2 mutant exhibits impaired elongation efficiency. Mutations in RPB1 and RPB2, the genes encoding the two largest subunits of RNAP II, were identified as suppressors of ssu72-2. The rpb1-1001 suppressor encodes an R1281A replacement, whereas rpb2-1001 encodes an R983G replacement. This information led us to identify the previously defined rpb2-4 and rpb2-10 alleles, which encode catalytically slow forms of RNAP II, as additional suppressors of ssu72-2. Furthermore, deletion of SPT4, which encodes a subunit of the Spt4-Spt5 early elongation complex, also suppresses ssu72-2, whereas the spt5-242 allele is suppressed by rpb2-1001. These results define Ssu72 as a transcription elongation factor. We propose a model in which Ssu72 catalyzes serine-5-P dephosphorylation subsequent to addition of the 7-methylguanosine cap on pre-mRNA in a manner that facilitates the RNAP II transition into the elongation stage of the transcription cycle.

scholarly journals Functional Interaction between TFIIB and the Rpb2 Subunit of RNA Polymerase II: Implications for the Mechanism of Transcription Initiation

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 3983-3991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo-Shiun Chen ◽  
Michael Hampsey
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Growth Defect ◽  
Nucleoside Triphosphate ◽  
Start Site ◽  
Functional Interaction ◽  
Rnap Ii

ABSTRACT The general transcription factor TFIIB is required for accurate initiation, although the mechanism by which RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) identifies initiation sites is not well understood. Here we describe results from genetic and biochemical analyses of an altered form of yeast TFIIB containing an arginine-78 → cysteine (R78C) replacement in the “B-finger” domain. TFIIB R78C shifts start site selection downstream of normal and confers a cold-sensitive growth defect (Csm−). Suppression of the R78C Csm− phenotype identified a functional interaction between TFIIB and the Rpb2 subunit of RNAP II and defined a novel role for Rpb2 in start site selection. The rpb2 suppressor encodes a glycine-369 → serine (G369S) replacement, located in the “lobe” domain of Rpb2 and near the Rpb9 subunit, which was identified previously as an effector of start site selection. The Rpb2-Rpb9 “lobe-jaw” region of RNAP II is downstream of the catalytic center and distal to the site of RNAP II-TFIIB interaction. A TFIIB R78C mutant extract was defective for promoter-specific run-on transcription but yielded an altered pattern of abortive initiation products, indicating that the R78C defect does not preclude initiation. The sua7-3 rpb2-101 double mutant was sensitive to 6-azauracil in vivo and to nucleoside triphosphate substrate depletion in vitro. In the context of the recent X-ray structure of the yeast RNAP II-TFIIB complex, these results define a functional interaction between the B-finger domain of TFIIB and the distal lobe-jaw region of RNAP II and provide insight into the mechanism of start site selection.

scholarly journals Tomato RNA polymerase II interacts with the rod-like conformation of the left terminal domain of the potato spindle tuber viroid positive RNA genome

2012 ◽  
Vol 93 (7) ◽  
pp. 1591-1600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teodora Bojić ◽  
Yasnee Beeharry ◽  
Da Jiang Zhang ◽  
Martin Pelchat
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Terminal Domain ◽  
Non Coding Rna ◽  
Rna Genome ◽  
Rnap Ii ◽  
Carboxy Terminal

Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) is a small, single-stranded, circular, non-coding RNA pathogen. Host DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) was proposed to be critical for its replication, but no interaction site for RNAP II on the PSTVd RNA genome was identified. Using a co-immunoprecipitation strategy involving a mAb specific for the conserved heptapeptide (i.e. YSPTSPS) located at the carboxy-terminal domain of the largest subunit of RNAP II, we established the interaction of tomato RNAP II with PSTVd RNA and showed that RNAP II associates with the left terminal domain of PSTVd (+) RNA. RNAP II did not interact with any of several PSTVd (−) RNAs tested. Deletion and site-directed mutagenesis of a shortened model PSTVd (+) RNA fragment were used to identify the role of specific nucleotides and structural motifs in this interaction. Our results provide evidence for the interaction of a RNAP II complex from a natural host with the rod-like conformation of the left terminal domain of PSTVd (+) RNA.

scholarly journals Functional dissection of the catalytic mechanism of mammalian RNA polymerase II

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoit Coulombe ◽  
Marie-France Langelier
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Catalytic Mechanism ◽  
Mutational Analysis ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Catalytic Mechanisms ◽  
Rnap Ii ◽  
Affinity Peptide

High resolution X-ray crystal structures of multisubunit RNA polymerases (RNAP) have contributed to our understanding of transcriptional mechanisms. They also provided a powerful guide for the design of experiments aimed at further characterizing the molecular stages of the transcription reaction. Our laboratory used tandem-affinity peptide purification in native conditions to isolate human RNAP II variants that had site-specific mutations in structural elements located strategically within the enzyme's catalytic center. Both in vitro and in vivo analyses of these mutants revealed novel features of the catalytic mechanisms involving this enzyme.Key words: RNA polymerase II, transcriptional mechanisms, mutational analysis, mRNA synthesis.

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