Dual-initiation promoters with intertwined canonical and TCT/TOP transcription start sites diversify transcript processing

Variations in transcription start site (TSS) selection reflect diversity of preinitiation complexes and can impact on post-transcriptional RNA fates. Most metazoan polymerase II-transcribed genes carry canonical initiation with pyrimidine/purine (YR) dinucleotide, while translation machinery-associated genes carry polypyrimidine initiator (5’-TOP or TCT). By addressing the developmental regulation of TSS selection in zebrafish we uncovered a class of dual-initiation promoters in thousands of genes, including snoRNA host genes. 5’-TOP/TCT initiation is intertwined with canonical initiation and used divergently in hundreds of dual-initiation promoters during maternal to zygotic transition. Dual-initiation in snoRNA host genes selectively generates host and snoRNA with often different spatio-temporal expression. Dual-initiation promoters are pervasive in human and fruit fly, reflecting evolutionary conservation. We propose that dual-initiation on shared promoters represents a composite promoter architecture, which can function both coordinately and divergently to diversify RNAs.

Intertwined canonical and non-canonical initiation in dual promoters are pervasive and differentially regulate Polymerase II transcription

The diversity and complexity of transcription start site (TSS) selection reflects variation of preinitiation complexes, divergent function of promoter-binding proteins and underlies not only transcriptional dynamics but may also impact on post-transcriptional fates of RNAs. The majority of metazoan genes are transcribed by RNA polymerase II from a canonical initiation motif having an YR dinucleotide at their TSSs. In contrast, translation machinery-associated genes carry promoters with polypyrimidine initiator (known as 5′-TOP or TCT) with cytosine replacing the R nucleotide. The functional significance of start site choice in promoter architectures is little understood. To get insight into the developmental regulation of start site selection we profiled 5′ ends of transcripts during zebrafish embryogenesis. We uncovered a novel class of dual-initiation (DI) promoters utilized by thousands of genes. In DI promoters non-canonical YC-initiation representing 5′-TOP/TCT initiators is intertwined with canonical YR-initiation. During maternal to zygotic transition, the two initiation types are divergently used in hundreds of DI promoters, demonstrating that the two initiation systems are distinctly regulated. We show via the example of snoRNA host genes and translation interference experiments that dual-initiation from shared promoters can lead to divergent spatio-temporal expression dynamics generating distinct sets of RNAs with different post-transcriptional fates. Thus utilization of DI promoters in large number of genes suggests two transcription initiation mechanisms targeting these promoters. DI promoters are conserved within human and fruit fly and reflect an evolutionary conserved mechanism for switching transcription initiation to adapt to the changing developmental context. Thus, our findings highlight a novel level of complexity of core promoter regulation in metazoans and broaden the scope for identification and characterization of alternative RNA products generated at shared core promoters.