DNA-dependent RNA polymerase III from Acanthamoeba castellanii. A rapid procedure for the large scale preparation of homogeneous enzyme

Photocross-linking of the RNA Polymerase I Preinitiation and Immediate Postinitiation Complexes

The architecture of eukaryotic rRNA transcription complexes was analyzed, revealing facts significant to the RNA polymerase (pol) I initiation process. Functional initiation and elongation complexes were mapped by site-specific photocross-linking to template DNA. Polymerase I is recruited to the promoter via protein-protein interactions with DNA-bound transcription initiation factor-IB. The latter's TATA-binding protein (TBP) and TAFs photocross-link to the promoter from -78 to +10 relative to the tis (+1). Although TBP does not bind DNA using its TATA-binding saddle, it does photocross-link to a 22-bp sequence that does not resemble a TATA box. Only TAF(I)96 (the mammalian TAF(I) 68, yeast Rrn7p homolog) overlaps significantly with the DNA interaction cleft of pol I based on modeling to the pol II crystal structure. None of the pol I-specific subunits that are localized on the lips of the cleft (A49 and A34.5) or the pol I-specific stalk (A43 and A14) cross-link to DNA. Pol I does not extend significantly upstream of the promoter-proximal border of the factor complex (-11 to -14), and similarly in the promoter proximal elongation complex, the enzyme does not contact DNA upstream of its normal exit from the cleft.

A novel RNA polymerase I transcription initiation factor, TIF-IE, commits rRNA genes by interaction with TIF-IB, not by DNA binding

In the small, free-living amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii, rRNA transcription requires, in addition to RNA polymerase I, a single DNA-binding factor, transcription initiation factor IB (TIF-IB). TIF-IB is a multimeric protein that contains TATA-binding protein (TBP) and four TBP-associated factors that are specific for polymerase I transcription. TIF-IB is required for accurate and promoter-specific initiation of rRNA transcription, recruiting and positioning the polymerase on the start site by protein-protein interaction. In A. castellanii, partially purified TIF-IB can form a persistent complex with the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) promoter while homogeneous TIF-IB cannot. An additional factor, TIF-IE, is required along with homogeneous TIF-IB for the formation of a stable complex on the rDNA core promoter. We show that TIF-IE by itself, however, does not bind to the rDNA promoter and thus differs in its mechanism from the upstream binding factor and upstream activating factor, which carry out similar complex-stabilizing functions in vertebrates and yeast, respectively. In addition to its presence in impure TIF-IB, TIF-IE is found in highly purified fractions of polymerase I, with which it associates. Renaturation of polypeptides excised from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels showed that a 141-kDa polypeptide possesses all the known activities of TIF-IE.

DNA melting and promoter clearance by eukaryotic RNA polymerase I

Ribosomal RNA transcription initiation requires the melting of DNA to form an open complex, formation of the first few phosphodiester bonds, commencement of RNA polymerase I movement along the DNA, clearance of the promoter, and the formation of a steady-state ternary elongation complex. We examined DNA melting and promoter clearance by using potassium permanganate, diethylpyrocarbonate and methidiumpropylEDTA.Fe(II) footprinting. In combination, these methods demonstrated: (1) TIF-IB and RNA polymerase I are the only proteins required for formation of an initial approximately 9 base-pair open promoter region. This finding contradicts earlier results using diethylpyrocarbonate alone, which suggested an RNA synthesis requirement for stable melting. (2) DNA melting is temperature-dependent, with a tm between 15 and 20 degrees C. (3) Temperature-dependency of melting, as well as stalling the polymerase at sites close to the transcription start site revealed that the melted DNA region initially opens upstream of the transcription initiation site, and enlarges in a downstream direction coordinate with initiation, eventually attaining a steady-state transcription bubble of approximately 19 base-pairs. (4) The RNA-DNA hybrid protects the template DNA from single-strand footprinting reagents. The hybrid is 9 bp in length, consistent with the longer hybrid estimated by some for the Escherichia coli polymerase and with the hybrids estimated for eukaryotic polymerases II and III.

Structure and evolution of prokaryotic and eukaryotic RNA polymerases: a model

A comparative overview of the subunit taxonomy and sequences of eukaryotic and prokaryotic RNA polymerases indicates the presence of a core structure conserved between both sets of enzymes. The differentiation between prokaryotic and eukaryotic polymerases is ascribed to domains and subunits peripheral to the largely conserved central structure. Possible subunit and domain functions are outlined. The core's flexible shape is largely determined by the elongated architecture of the two largest subunits, which can be oriented along the DNA axis with their bulkier amino-terminal head regions looking towards the 3' end of the gene to be transcribed and their more slender carboxyl-terminal domains at the tail end of the enzyme. The two largest prokaryotic subunits appear originally derived from a single gene.

Eukaryotic RNA polymerases

This review will attempt to cover the present information on the multiple forms of eukaryotic DNA-dependent RNA polymerases, both at the structural and functional level. Nuclear RNA polymerases constitute a group of three large multimeric enzymes, each with a different and complex subunit structure and distinct specificity. The review will include a detailed description of their molecular structure. The current approaches to elucidate subunit function via chemical modification, phosphorylation, enzyme reconstitution, immunological studies, and mutant analysis will be described. In vitro reconstituted systems are available for the accurate transcription of cloned genes coding for rRNA, tRNA, 5 SRNA, and mRNA. These systems will be described with special attention to the cellular factors required for specific transcription. A section on future prospects will address questions concerning the significance of the complex subunit structure of the nuclear enzymes; the organization and regulation of the gene coding for RNA polymerase subunits; the obtention of mutants affected at the level of factors, or RNA polymerases; the mechanism of template recognition by factors and RNA polymerase.

Regulation of ribosomal RNA transcription during differentiation of Acanthamoeba castellanii: a review

During the cellular differentiation induced by starvation of Acanthamoeba castellanii, the expression of a number of genes is regulated. Evidence is reviewed that at least one of these, the precursor ribosomal RNA transcription unit, is regulated at the level of transcription. The structure of the rRNA transcription unit and of the RNA polymerases responsible for transcription in Acanthamoeba are reviewed. Utilizing an in vitro transcription system constructed from these components, preliminary evidence has been obtained that pre-rRNA gene expression is regulated by a modification of RNA polymerase I that affects the enzyme's ability to participate efficiently in the initiation of transcription. These results are reviewed in relation to other known mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes.