scholarly journals Two Distinct Domains in Staf To Selectively Activate Small Nuclear RNA-Type and mRNA Promoters

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2650-2658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Schuster ◽  
Alain Krol ◽  
Philippe Carbon
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Repeat Unit ◽  
Transcriptional Activator ◽  
Small Nuclear Rna ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Activation Domains ◽  
Transcription Complexes ◽  
Pol Iii

ABSTRACT Staf is a transcriptional activator of prime importance for enhanced transcription of small nuclear (snRNA) and snRNA-type genes transcribed by RNA polymerases II and III (Pol II and III). In addition to this activity, it also possesses the capacity to stimulate expression from an RNA polymerase II mRNA promoter. This promiscuous activator thus provides a useful model system for studying the mechanism by which one single transcription factor can activate a large variety of promoters. Here, we report the use of in vivo assays to identify the Staf activation domains involved in promoter selectivity. Analysis of Staf mutants reveals the existence of two physically and functionally distinct regions, outside of the DNA binding domain, responsible for mediating selective transcriptional activation. While a 93-amino-acid domain, with the striking presence of four repeated units, is specialized for transcriptional activation of an mRNA promoter, a segment of only 18 amino acids, with a critical Leu-213 residue, acts specifically on Pol II and Pol III snRNA and snRNA-type promoters. In addition, this study disclosed the fundamental importance of invariant leucine and aspartic acid residues located in each repeat unit of the mRNA activation domain. Staf is therefore the first transcriptional activator described so far to harbor two physically and functionally distinct activator domains. This finding suggests that the same activator can contact different, specialized transcription complexes formed on different types of basal promoters through promoter-specific transactivation pathways.

Role of the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II in expression of small nuclear RNA genes

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain Egloff ◽  
Shona Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Rna Processing ◽  
Repeat Unit ◽  
Small Nuclear Rna ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Terminal Domain ◽  
Covalent Modifications

Pol II (RNA polymerase II) transcribes the genes encoding proteins and non-coding snRNAs (small nuclear RNAs). The largest subunit of Pol II contains a distinctive CTD (C-terminal domain) comprising a repetitive heptad amino acid sequence, Tyr1-Ser2-Pro3-Thr4-Ser5-Pro6-Ser7. This domain is now known to play a major role in the processes of transcription and co-transcriptional RNA processing in expression of both snRNA and protein-coding genes. The heptapeptide repeat unit can be extensively modified in vivo and covalent modifications of the CTD during the transcription cycle result in the ordered recruitment of RNA-processing factors. The most studied modifications are the phosphorylation of the serine residues in position 2 and 5 (Ser2 and Ser5), which play an important role in the co-transcriptional processing of both mRNA and snRNA. An additional, recently identified CTD modification, phosphorylation of the serine residue in position 7 (Ser7) of the heptapeptide, is however specifically required for expression of snRNA genes. These findings provide interesting insights into the control of gene-specific Pol II function.

scholarly journals Three functional classes of transcriptional activation domain.

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 2044-2055 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Blau ◽  
H Xiao ◽  
S McCracken ◽  
P O'Hare ◽  
J Greenblatt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Type I ◽  
Rnase Protection ◽  
Activation Domains ◽  
Transcriptional Activation Domain ◽  
Transactivation Domains ◽  
Functional Classes

We have studied the abilities of different transactivation domains to stimulate the initiation and elongation (postinitiation) steps of RNA polymerase II transcription in vivo. Nuclear run-on and RNase protection analyses revealed three classes of activation domains: Sp1 and CTF stimulated initiation (type I); human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Tat fused to a DNA binding domain stimulated predominantly elongation (type IIA); and VP16, p53, and E2F1 stimulated both initiation and elongation (type IIB). A quadruple point mutation of VP16 converted it from a type IIB to a type I activator. Type I and type IIA activators synergized with one another but not with type IIB activators. This observation implies that synergy can result from the concerted action of factors stimulating two different steps in transcription: initiation and elongation. The functional differences between activators may be explained by the different contacts they make with general transcription factors. In support of this idea, we found a correlation between the abilities of activators, including Tat, to stimulate elongation and their abilities to bind TFIIH.

scholarly journals TATA-Binding Protein Mutants That Are Lethal in the Absence of the Nhp6 High-Mobility-Group Protein

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (14) ◽  
pp. 6419-6429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Eriksson ◽  
Debabrata Biswas ◽  
Yaxin Yu ◽  
James M. Stewart ◽  
David J. Stillman
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Synthetic Lethality ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
High Mobility ◽  
Tata Binding Protein ◽  
High Mobility Group ◽  
Multicopy Plasmid ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Pol Iii

ABSTRACT The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Nhp6 protein is related to the high-mobility-group B family of architectural DNA-binding proteins that bind DNA nonspecifically but bend DNA sharply. Nhp6 is involved in transcriptional activation by both RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and Pol III. Our previous genetic studies have implicated Nhp6 in facilitating TATA-binding protein (TBP) binding to some Pol II promoters in vivo, and we have used a novel genetic screen to isolate 32 new mutations in TBP that are viable in wild-type cells but lethal in the absence of Nhp6. The TBP mutations that are lethal in the absence of Nhp6 cluster in three regions: on the upper surface of TBP that may have a regulatory role, near residues that contact Spt3, or near residues known to contact either TFIIA or Brf1 (in TFIIIB). The latter set of mutations suggests that Nhp6 becomes essential when a TBP mutant compromises its ability to interact with either TFIIA or Brf1. Importantly, the synthetic lethality for some of the TBP mutations is suppressed by a multicopy plasmid with SNR6 or by an spt3 mutation. It has been previously shown that nhp6ab mutants are defective in expressing SNR6, a Pol III-transcribed gene encoding the U6 splicing RNA. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments show that TBP binding to SNR6 is reduced in an nhp6ab mutant. Nhp6 interacts with Spt16/Pob3, the yeast equivalent of the FACT elongation complex, consistent with nhp6ab cells being extremely sensitive to 6-azauracil (6-AU). However, this 6-AU sensitivity can be suppressed by multicopy SNR6 or BRF1. Additionally, strains with SNR6 promoter mutations are sensitive to 6-AU, suggesting that decreased SNR6 RNA levels contribute to 6-AU sensitivity. These results challenge the widely held belief that 6-AU sensitivity results from a defect in transcriptional elongation.

scholarly journals Proximal sequence element-binding transcription factor (PTF) is a multisubunit complex required for transcription of both RNA polymerase II- and RNA polymerase III-dependent small nuclear RNA genes.

1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 2019-2027 ◽  
Author(s):  
J B Yoon ◽  
S Murphy ◽  
L Bai ◽  
Z Wang ◽  
R G Roeder
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Small Nuclear Rna ◽  
Class Iii ◽  
Sequence Element ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Proximal Sequence Element ◽  
Nuclear Rna ◽  
Class Iii Genes ◽  
Pol Iii

The proximal sequence element (PSE), found in both RNA polymerase II (Pol II)- and RNA Pol III-transcribed small nuclear RNA (snRNA) genes, is specifically bound by the PSE-binding transcription factor (PTF). We have purified PTF to near homogeneity from HeLa cell extracts by using a combination of conventional and affinity chromatographic methods. Purified PTF is composed of four polypeptides with apparent molecular masses of 180, 55, 45, and 44 kDa. A combination of preparative electrophoretic mobility shift and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analyses has conclusively identified these four polypeptides as subunits of human PTF, while UV cross-linking experiments demonstrate that the largest subunit of PTF is in close contact with the PSE. The purified PTF activates transcription from promoters of both Pol II- and Pol III-transcribed snRNA genes in a PSE-dependent manner. In addition, we have investigated factor requirements in transcription of Pol III-dependent snRNA genes. We show that in extracts that have been depleted of TATA-binding protein (TBP) and associated factors, recombinant TBP restores transcription from U6 and 7SK promoters but not from the VAI promoter, whereas the highly purified TBP-TBP-associated factor complex TFIIIB restores transcription from the VAI but not the U6 or 7SK promoter. Furthermore, by complementation of heat-treated extracts lacking TFIIIC activity, we show that TFIIIC1 is required for transcription of both the 7SK and VAI genes, whereas TFIIIC2 is required only for transcription of the VAI gene. From these observations, we conclude (i) that PTF and TFIIIC2 function as gene-specific as gene-specific factors for PSE-and B-box-containing Pol III genes, respectively, (ii) that the form of TBP used by class III genes with upstream promoter elements differs from the from used by class III genes with internal promoters, and (iii) that TFIIIC1 is required for both internal and external Pol III promoters.

scholarly journals Yeast NC2 Associates with the RNA Polymerase II Preinitiation Complex and Selectively Affects Transcription In Vivo

2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 2736-2742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph V. Geisberg ◽  
Frank C. Holstege ◽  
Richard A. Young ◽  
Kevin Struhl
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Preinitiation Complex ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Basal Transcription Factors

ABSTRACT NC2 (Dr1-Drap1 or Bur6-Ydr1) has been characterized in vitro as a general negative regulator of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription that interacts with TATA-binding protein (TBP) and inhibits its function. Here, we show that NC2 associates with promoters in vivo in a manner that correlates with transcriptional activity and with occupancy by basal transcription factors. NC2 rapidly associates with promoters in response to transcriptional activation, and it remains associated under conditions in which transcription is blocked after assembly of the Pol II preinitiation complex. NC2 positively and negatively affects approximately 17% of Saccharomyces cerevisiaegenes in a pattern that resembles the response to general environmental stress. Relative to TBP, NC2 occupancy is high at promoters where NC2 is positively required for normal levels of transcription. Thus, NC2 is associated with the Pol II preinitiation complex, and it can play a direct and positive role at certain promoters in vivo.

scholarly journals Artificial Recruitment of TFIID, but Not RNA Polymerase II Holoenzyme, Activates Transcription in Mammalian Cells

2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 4350-4358 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Dorris ◽  
Kevin Struhl
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Activation Domains ◽  
Synergistic Activation ◽  
The One ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii Holoenzyme

ABSTRACT In yeast cells, transcriptional activation occurs when the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) machinery is artificially recruited to a promoter by fusing individual components of this machinery to a DNA-binding domain. Here, we show that artificial recruitment of components of the TFIID complex can activate transcription in mammalian cells. Surprisingly, artificial recruitment of TATA-binding protein (TBP) activates transiently transfected and chromosomally integrated promoters with equal efficiency, whereas artificial recruitment of TBP-associated factors activates only chromosomal reporters. In contrast, artificial recruitment of various components of the mammalian Pol II holoenzyme does not confer transcriptional activation, nor does it result in synergistic activation in combination with natural activation domains. In the one case examined in more detail, the Srb7 fusion failed to activate despite being associated with the Pol II holoenzyme and being directly recruited to the promoter. Interestingly, some acidic activation domains are less effective when the promoter is chromosomally integrated rather than transiently transfected, whereas the Sp1 glutamine-rich activation domain is more effective on integrated reporters. Thus, yeast and mammalian cells differ with respect to transcriptional activation by artificial recruitment of the Pol II holoenzyme.

scholarly journals Functional Domains of Rep2, a Transcriptional Activator Subunit for Res2–Cdc10, Controlling the Cell Cycle “Start”

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1577-1588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayaka Tahara ◽  
Koichi Tanaka ◽  
Yasuhito Yuasa ◽  
Hiroto Okayama
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Transcriptional Activator ◽  
S Phase ◽  
Activation Domains ◽  
Multicopy Suppressor ◽  
C Terminus

In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, passage from G1 to S-phase requires the execution of the transcriptional factor complex that consists of the Cdc10 and Res1/2 molecules. This complex activates the MluI cell cycle box cis-element contained in genes essential for S-phase onset and progression. The rep2 + gene, isolated as a multicopy suppressor of a temperature-sensitivecdc10 mutant, has been postulated to encode a putative transcriptional activator subunit for the Res2–Cdc10 complex. To identify the rep2 + function and molecularly define its domain organization, we reconstituted the Res2–Cdc10 complex-dependent transcriptional activation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Reconstitution experiments, deletion analyses using one and two hybrid systems, and in vivo Res2 coimmunoprecipitation assays show that the Res2–Cdc10 complex itself can recognize but cannot activate MluI cell cycle box without Rep2, and that consistent with its postulated function, Rep2 contains 45-amino acid Res2 binding and 22-amino acid transcriptional activation domains in the middle and C terminus of the molecule, respectively. The functional essentiality of these domains is also demonstrated by their requirement for rescue of the cold-sensitive rep2deletion mutant of fission yeast.

scholarly journals Artificially Recruited TATA-Binding Protein Fails To Remodel Chromatin and Does Not Activate Three Promoters That Require Chromatin Remodeling

2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (16) ◽  
pp. 5847-5857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Ryan ◽  
Grace A. Stafford ◽  
Liuning Yu ◽  
Randall H. Morse
Keyword(s):  
Binding Site ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Reporter Gene ◽  
Chromatin Remodeling ◽  
Chromatin Structure ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Tata Binding Protein ◽  
Activation Domains

ABSTRACT Transcriptional activators are believed to work in part by recruiting general transcription factors, such as TATA-binding protein (TBP) and the RNA polymerase II holoenzyme. Activation domains also contribute to remodeling of chromatin in vivo. To determine whether these two activities represent distinct functions of activation domains, we have examined transcriptional activation and chromatin remodeling accompanying artificial recruitment of TBP in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). We measured transcription of reporter genes with defined chromatin structure by artificial recruitment of TBP and found that a reporter gene whose TATA element was relatively accessible could be activated by artificially recruited TBP, whereas two promoters, GAL10 and CHA1, that have accessible activator binding sites, but nucleosomal TATA elements, could not. A third reporter gene containing theHIS4 promoter could be activated by GAL4-TBP only when a RAP1 binding site was present, although RAP1 alone could not activate the reporter, suggesting that RAP1 was needed to open the chromatin structure to allow activation. Consistent with this interpretation, artificially recruited TBP was unable to perturb nucleosome positioning via a nucleosomal binding site, in contrast to a true activator such as GAL4, or to perturb the TATA-containing nucleosome at theCHA1 promoter. Finally, we show that activation of theGAL10 promoter by GAL4, which requires chromatin remodeling, can occur even in swi gcn5 yeast, implying that remodeling pathways independent of GCN5, the SWI-SNF complex, and TFIID can operate during transcriptional activation in vivo.

scholarly journals The Swi/Snf Complex Is Important for Histone Eviction during Transcriptional Activation and RNA Polymerase II Elongation In Vivo

2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (20) ◽  
pp. 6987-6995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc A. Schwabish ◽  
Kevin Struhl
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Nucleosome Remodeling ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Activator Proteins ◽  
Coding Regions ◽  
Internal Initiation

ABSTRACT The Swi/Snf nucleosome-remodeling complex is recruited by DNA-binding activator proteins, whereupon it alters chromatin structure to increase preinitiation complex formation and transcription. At the SUC2 promoter, the Swi/Snf complex is required for histone eviction in a manner that is independent of transcriptional activity. Swi/Snf travels through coding regions with elongating RNA polymerase (Pol) II, and swi2 mutants exhibit sensitivity to drugs affecting Pol elongation. In FACT-depleted cells, Swi/Snf is important for internal initiation within coding regions, suggesting that Swi/Snf is important for histone eviction that occurs during Pol II elongation. Taken together, these observations suggest that Swi/Snf is important for histone eviction at enhancers and that it also functions as a Pol II elongation factor.

scholarly journals Transcriptional Cofactor CA150 Regulates RNA Polymerase II Elongation in a TATA-Box-Dependent Manner

1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 4719-4728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Suñé ◽  
Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Tata Box ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Tat Protein ◽  
Transcription Complexes ◽  
Hiv 1

ABSTRACT Tat protein strongly activates transcription from the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) long terminal repeat (LTR) by enhancing the elongation efficiency of RNA polymerase II complexes. Tat-mediated transcriptional activation requires cellular cofactors and specific cis-acting elements within the HIV-1 promoter, among them a functional TATA box. Here, we have investigated the mechanism by which one of these cofactors, termed CA150, regulates HIV-1 transcription in vivo. We present a series of functional assays that demonstrate that the regulation of the HIV-1 LTR by CA150 has the same functional requirements as the activation by Tat. We found that CA150 affects elongation of transcription complexes assembled on the HIV-1 promoter in a TATA-box-dependent manner. We discuss the data in terms of the involvement of CA150 in the regulation of Tat-activated HIV-1 gene expression. In addition, we also provide evidence suggesting a role for CA150 in the regulation of cellular transcriptional processes.

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