Spectroscopic determination of open complex formation at promoters for Escherichia coli RNA polymerase

Pseudomonas aeruginosa SutA wedges RNAP lobe domain open to facilitate promoter DNA unwinding

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pae) SutA adapts bacteria to hypoxia and nutrition-limited environment during chronic infection by increasing transcription activity of an RNA polymerase (RNAP) holoenzyme comprising the stress-responsive σ factor σ^S (RNAP-σ^S). SutA shows no homology to previously characterized RNAP-binding proteins. The structure and mode of action of SutA remain unclear. Here we determined cryo-EM structures of Pae RNAP-σ^S holoenzyme, Pae RNAP-σ^S holoenzyme complexed with SutA, and Pae RNAP-σ^S transcription initiation complex comprising SutA. The structures show SutA pinches RNAP-β protrusion and facilitates promoter unwinding by wedging RNAP-β lobe open. Our results demonstrate that SutA clears an energetic barrier to facilitate promoter unwinding of RNAP-σ^S holoenzyme.

SutA is a transcription factor which increases transcription activity of an RNA polymerase (RNAP). Here, authors present cryo-EM structures of SutA-bound RNAP-σ^S holoenzyme and SutA-bound transcription initiation complex, which reveals SutA wedging the RNAP-β lobe open to aid unwinding.

Structural basis of reiterative transcription from the pyrG and pyrBI promoters by bacterial RNA polymerase

Reiterative transcription is a non-canonical form of RNA synthesis by RNA polymerase in which a ribonucleotide specified by a single base in the DNA template is repetitively added to the nascent RNA transcript. We previously determined the X-ray crystal structure of the bacterial RNA polymerase engaged in reiterative transcription from the pyrG promoter, which contains eight poly-G RNA bases synthesized using three C bases in the DNA as a template and extends RNA without displacement of the promoter recognition σ factor from the core enzyme. In this study, we determined a series of transcript initiation complex structures from the pyrG promoter using soak–trigger–freeze X-ray crystallography. We also performed biochemical assays to monitor template DNA translocation during RNA synthesis from the pyrG promoter and in vitro transcription assays to determine the length of poly-G RNA from the pyrG promoter variants. Our study revealed how RNA slips on template DNA and how RNA polymerase and template DNA determine length of reiterative RNA product. Lastly, we determined a structure of a transcript initiation complex at the pyrBI promoter and proposed an alternative mechanism of RNA slippage and extension requiring the σ dissociation from the core enzyme.

Structures and mechanism of transcription initiation by bacterial ECF factors

Bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) forms distinct holoenzymes with extra-cytoplasmic function (ECF) σ factors to initiate specific gene expression programs. In this study, we report a cryo-EM structure at 4.0 Å of Escherichia coli transcription initiation complex comprising σE-the most-studied bacterial ECF σ factor (Ec σE-RPo), and a crystal structure at 3.1 Å of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transcription initiation complex with a chimeric σH/E (Mtb σH/E-RPo). The structure of Ec σE-RPo reveals key interactions essential for assembly of E. coli σE-RNAP holoenzyme and for promoter recognition and unwinding by E. coli σE. Moreover, both structures show that the non-conserved linkers (σ2/σ4 linker) of the two ECF σ factors are inserted into the active-center cleft and exit through the RNA-exit channel. We performed secondary-structure prediction of 27,670 ECF σ factors and find that their non-conserved linkers probably reach into and exit from RNAP active-center cleft in a similar manner. Further biochemical results suggest that such σ2/σ4 linker plays an important role in RPo formation, abortive production and promoter escape during ECF σ factors-mediated transcription initiation.

Crl activates transcription by stabilizing active conformation of the master stress transcription initiation factor

σ^S is a master transcription initiation factor that protects bacterial cells from various harmful environmental stresses including antibiotic pressure. Although its mechanism remains unclear, it is known that full activation of σ^S-mediated transcription requires a σ^S-specific activator, Crl. In this study, we determined a 3.80 Å cryo-EM structure of an Escherichia coli transcription activation complex (E. coli Crl-TAC) comprising E. coli σ^S-RNA polymerase (σ^S-RNAP) holoenzyme, Crl, and a nucleic-acid scaffold. The structure reveals that Crl interacts with domain 2 of σ^S (σ^S₂) and the RNAP core enzyme, but does not contact promoter DNA. Results from subsequent hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) indicate that Crl stabilizes key structural motifs within σ^S₂ to promote the assembly of the σ^S-RNAP holoenzyme and also to facilitate formation of an RNA polymerase–promoter DNA open complex (RPo). Our study demonstrates a unique DNA contact-independent mechanism of transcription activation, thereby defining a previously unrecognized mode of transcription activation in cells.

Base flipping in open complex formation at bacterial promoters

In the process of transcription initiation, the bacterial RNA polymerase binds double-stranded (ds) promoter DNA and subsequently effects strand separation of 12 to 14 base pairs (bp), including the start site of transcription, to form the so-called "open complex" (also referred to as RP(o)). This complex is competent to initiate RNA synthesis. Here we will review the role of σ70 and its homologs in the strand separation process, and evidence that strand separation is initiated at the -11A (the A of the non-template strand that is 11 bp upstream from the transcription start site) of the promoter. By using the fluorescent adenine analog, 2-aminopurine, it was demonstrated that the -11A on the non-template strand flips out of the DNA helix and into a hydrophobic pocket where it stacks with tyrosine 430 of σ70. Open complexes are remarkably stable, even though in vivo, and under most experimental conditions in vitro, dsDNA is much more stable than its strand-separated form. Subsequent structural studies of other researchers have confirmed that in the open complex the -11A has flipped into a hydrophobic pocket of σ70. It was also revealed that RPo was stabilized by three additional bases of the non-template strand being flipped out of the helix and into hydrophobic pockets, further preventing re-annealing of the two complementary DNA strands.

CarD stabilizes mycobacterial open complexes via a two-tiered kinetic mechanism

CarD is an essential and global transcriptional regulator in mycobacteria. While its biological role is unclear, CarD functions by interacting directly with RNA polymerase (RNAP) holoenzyme promoter complexes. Here, using a fluorescent reporter of open complex, we quantitate RP_o formation in real time and show that Mycobacterium tuberculosis CarD has a dramatic effect on the energetics of RNAP bound complexes on the M. tuberculosis rrnAP3 ribosomal RNA promoter. The data reveal that Mycobacterium bovis RNAP exhibits an unstable RP_o that is stabilized by CarD and suggest that CarD uses a two-tiered, concentration-dependent mechanism by associating with open and closed complexes with different affinities. Specifically, the kinetics of open-complex formation can be explained by a model where, at saturating concentrations of CarD, the rate of bubble collapse is slowed and the rate of opening is accelerated. The kinetics and open-complex stabilities of CarD mutants further clarify the roles played by the key residues W85, K90 and R25 previously shown to affect CarD-dependent gene regulation in vivo. In contrast to M. bovis RNAP, Escherichia coli RNAP efficiently forms RP_o on rrnAP3, suggesting an important difference between the polymerases themselves and highlighting how transcriptional machinery can vary across bacterial genera.

Fluorescent methods to study transcription initiation and transition into elongation

The DNA-dependent RNA polymerases induce specific conformational changes in the promoter DNA during transcription initiation. Fluorescence spectroscopy sensitively monitors these DNA conformational changes in real time and at equilibrium providing powerful ways to estimate interactions in transcriptional complexes and to assess how transcription is regulated by the promoter DNA sequence, transcription factors, and small ligands. Ensemble fluorescence methods described here probe the individual steps of promoter binding, bending, opening, and transition into the elongation using T7 phage and mitochondrial transcriptional systems as examples.

Sensing DNA opening in transcription using quenchable Förster resonance energy transfer

Many biological processes, such as gene transcription and replication, involve opening and closing of short regions of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). Few techniques, however, can study these processes in real time or at the single-molecule level. Here, we present a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay that monitors the state of DNA (double- vs single-stranded) at a specific region within a DNA fragment, at both the ensemble level and the single-molecule level. The assay utilizes two closely spaced fluorophores: a FRET donor fluorophore (Cy3B) on the first DNA strand and a FRET acceptor fluorophore (ATTO647N) on the complementary strand. Because our assay is based on quenching and dequenching FRET processes, i.e., the presence or absence of contact-induced fluorescence quenching, we have named it a "quenchable FRET" assay or "quFRET". Using lac promoter DNA fragments, quFRET allowed us to sense transcription bubble expansion and compaction during abortive initiation by bacterial RNA polymerase. We also used quFRET to confirm the mode of action of gp2 (a phage-encoded protein that acts as a potent inhibitor of Escherichia coli transcription) and rifampicin (an antibiotic that blocks transcription initiation). Our results demonstrate that quFRET should find numerous applications in many processes involving DNA opening and closing, as well as in the development of new antibacterial therapies involving transcription.

Evidence for a tyrosine-adenine stacking interaction and for a short-lived open intermediate subsequent to initial binding of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase to promoter DNA

Bacterial RNA polymerase and a "sigma" transcription factor form an initiation-competent "open" complex at a promoter by disruption of about 14 base pairs. Strand separation is likely initiated at the highly conserved -11 A-T base pair. Amino acids in conserved region 2.3 of the main Escherichia coli sigma factor, sigma(70), are involved in this process, but their roles are unclear. To monitor the fates of particular bases upon addition of RNA polymerase, promoters bearing single substitutions of the fluorescent A-analog 2-aminopurine (2-AP) at -11 and two other positions in promoter DNA were examined. Evidence was obtained for an open intermediate on the pathway to open complex formation, in which these 2-APs are no longer stacked onto their neighboring bases. The tyrosine at residue 430 in region 2.3 of sigma(70) was shown to be involved in quenching the fluorescence of a 2-AP substituted at -11, presumably through a stacking interaction. These data refine the structural model for open complex formation and reveal a novel interaction involved in DNA melting by RNA polymerase.

GalR represses galP1 by inhibiting the rate-determining open complex formation through RNA polymerase contact: a GalR negative control mutant

GalR represses the galP1 promoter by a DNA looping-independent mechanism. Equilibrium binding of GalR and RNA polymerase to DNA, and real-time kinetics of base-pair distortion (isomerization) showed that the equilibrium dissociation constant of RNA polymerase-P1 closed complexes is largely unaffected in the presence of saturating GalR, indicating that mutual antagonism (steric hindrance) of the regulator and the RNA polymerase does not occur at this promoter. In fluorescence kinetics with 2-AP labeled P1 DNA, GalR inhibited the slower of the two-step base-pair distortion process. We isolated a negative control GalR mutant, S29R, which while bound to the operator DNA was incapable of repression of P1. Based on these results and previous demonstration that repression requires the C-terminal domain of the alpha subunit (alpha-CTD) of RNA polymerase, we propose that GalR establishes contact with alpha-CTD at the last resolved isomerization intermediate, forming a kinetic trap.

lacP1 promoter with an extended -10 motif. Pleiotropic effects of cyclic AMP protein at different steps of transcription initiation

The cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP), which activates transcription from the wild-type lacP1 promoter and most of its mutants, represses productive RNA synthesis from a lacP1 promoter variant that contains an extended -10 element, although CRP enhances RNA polymerase binding as well as open complex formation in both promoters. Moreover, abortive RNA synthesis, which is already higher in the extended -10 variant compared with the parent promoter, was further enhanced by CRP. These results, together with the observed decrease in productive RNA synthesis, indicate that CRP, while facilitating the earlier steps of initiation, inhibits transcription from the extended -10 lacP1 by hindering promoter clearance. We propose that CRP decreases energetic barriers to RNA polymerase binding, isomerization, and abortive RNA synthesis but stabilizes the abortive RNA initiating complex, which results in increasing the activation energy of the transition state before the elongation complex. The results demonstrate for the first time that a DNA-binding regulatory protein acts as an activator or a repressor in different steps of the transcription initiation pathway because of the energetic differences of the intermediate complex in the same promoter.

Asynchronous basepair openings in transcription initiation: CRP enhances the rate-limiting step

The mechanism of isomerization (basepair openings) during transcription initiation by RNA polymerase at the galP1 promoter of Escherichia coli was investigated by 2-aminopurine (2,AP) fluorescence. The fluorescence of 2,AP is quenched in DNA duplex and enhanced when the basepair is distorted or deformed. The increase of 2,AP fluorescence was used to monitor basepair distortion at several individual positions in the promoter. We observed that basepair distortions during isomerization are a multi-step process. Three distinct hitherto unresolved steps in kinetic terms were observed, where significant fluorescence change occurs: a fast step with a half-life of around 1 s, which is followed by two slower steps occurring with a half-life in the range of minutes at 25 degrees C. Contrary to commonly held expectations, basepairs at different positions opened by 2,AP assays without any obvious pattern, suggesting that basepair opening is an asynchronous multi-step process. cAMP.CRP, which activates transcription at galP1, enhanced the rate-limiting step.

Kinetics of transcription initiation at lacP1. Multiple roles of cyclic AMP receptor protein

The cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) acts as a transcription activator at many promoters of Escherichia coli. We have examined the kinetics of open complex formation at the lacP1 promoter using tryptophan fluorescence of RNA polymerase and DNA fragments with 2-aminopurine substituted at specific positions. Apart from the closed complex formation and promoter clearance, we were able to detect three steps. The first step after the closed complex formation leads to a rapid increase of 2-aminopurine fluorescence. This was followed by another rapid step in which quenching of tryptophan fluorescence of RNA polymerase was observed. The slowest step detected by 2-aminopurine fluorescence increase is assigned to the final open complex formation. We have found that CRP not only enhances RNA polymerase binding at the promoter, but also enhances the slowest isomerization step by about 2-fold. Furthermore, potassium permanganate probing shows that the conformation of the open complex in the presence of CRP appears qualitatively and quantitatively different from that in the absence of CRP, suggesting that contact with RNA polymerase is maintained throughout the transcription initiation.

The +2 NTP binding drives open complex formation in T7 RNA polymerase

Transcription initiation as catalyzed by T7 RNA polymerase consists primarily of promoter binding, strand separation, nucleotide binding, and synthesis of the first phosphodiester bond. The promoter strand separation process occurs at a very fast rate, but promoter opening is incomplete in the absence of the initiating NTPs. In this paper, we investigate how initiating NTPs affect the kinetics and thermodynamics of open complex formation. Transient state kinetic studies show that the open complex, ED(o), is formed via an intermediate ED(c), and the conversion of ED(c) to ED(o) occurs with an unfavorable equilibrium constant. In the presence of the initiating NTP that base-pairs with the template at position +2, the process of open complex formation is nearly complete. Our studies reveal that the nucleotide that drives open complex formation needs to be a triphosphate and to be correctly base-paired with the template. These results indicate that the melted template DNA in the open complex is positioned to bind the +2 NTP. The addition of +1 NTP alone does not stabilize the open complex; nor is it required for +2 NTP binding. However, there appears to be cooperativity in initiating NTP binding in that the binding of +2 NTP facilitates +1 NTP binding. The dissection of the initiation pathway provides insights into how open complex formation steps that are sensitive to the promoter sequence upstream from the initiation start site modulate the affinity of initiating NTPs and allow transcription initiation to be regulated by initiating NTP concentration.

Promoter clearance by T7 RNA polymerase. Initial bubble collapse and transcript dissociation monitored by base analog fluorescence

Footprinting, fluorescence, and x-ray structural information from the initial, promoter-bound complex of T7 RNA polymerase describes the very beginning of the initiation of transcription, whereas recent fluorescence and biochemical studies paint a preliminary picture of an elongation complex. The current work focuses on the transition from an initially transcribing, promoter-bound complex to an elongation complex clear of the promoter. Fluorescence quenching is used to follow the melted state of the DNA bubble, and a novel approach using a locally mismatched fluorescent base analog reports on the local structure of the heteroduplex. Fluorescent base analogs placed at positions -2 and -1 of the promoter indicate that this initially melted, nontranscribed region remains melted as the polymerase translocates through to position +8. In progressing to position +9, this region of the DNA bubble begins to collapse. Probes placed at positions +1 and +2 of the template strand indicate that the 5' end of the RNA remains in a heteroduplex as the complex translocates to position +10. Subsequent translocation leads to sequential dissociation of the first 2 bases of the RNA. These results show that the initially transcribing complex bubble can reach a size of up to 13 base pairs and a maximal heteroduplex length of 10 base pairs. They further indicate that initial bubble collapse precedes dissociation of the 5' end of the RNA.

Fluorescence characterization of the transcription bubble in elongation complexes of T7 RNA polymerase

The various kinetic and thermodynamic models for transcription elongation all require an understanding of the nature of the melted bubble which moves with the RNA polymerase active site. Is the general nature of the bubble system-dependent or are there common energetic requirements which constrain a bubble in any RNA polymerases? T7 RNA polymerase is one of the simplest RNA polymerases and is the system for which we have the highest-resolution structural information. However, there is no high-resolution information available for a stable elongation complex. In order to directly map melted regions of the DNA in a functionally paused elongation complex, we have introduced fluorescent probes site-specifically into the DNA. Like 2-aminopurine, which substitutes for adenine bases, the fluorescence intensity of the new probe, pyrrolo-dC, which substitutes for cytosine bases, is sensitive to its environment. Specifically, the fluorescence is quenched in duplex DNA relative to its fluorescence in single-stranded DNA, such that the probe provides direct information on local melting of the DNA. Placement of this new probe at specific positions in the non-template strand shows clearly that the elongation bubble extends about eight bases upstream of the pause site, while 2-aminopurine probes show that the elongation bubble extends only about one nucleotide downstream of the last base incorporated. The positioning of the active site very close to the downstream edge of the bubble is consistent with previous studies and with similar studies of the promoter-bound, pre-initiation complex. The results show clearly that the RNA:DNA hybrid can be no more than eight nucleotides in length, and characterization of different paused species suggests preliminarily that these dimensions are not sequence or position dependent. Finally, the results confirm that the ternary complex is not stable with short lengths of transcript, but persists for a substantial time when paused in the middle or at the (runoff) end of duplex DNA.

Extensive central disruption of a four-way junction on binding CCE1 resolving enzyme

Junction-resolving enzymes are nucleases that are selective for the structure of the four-way DNA junction that is important in genetic recombination. They exhibit selectivity for the structure of the junction, but they also manipulate the structure. Local disruption of DNA structure around the centre of the junction by CCE1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been investigated using 2-aminopurine fluorescence. On binding CCE1, 2-aminopurine bases located at the point of strand exchange exhibit a large increase in fluorescence intensity (up to 39-fold enhancement), consistent with complete unstacking. This was observed for all positions around the centre of the junction, both 5' and 3' to the point of strand exchange. Thymine bases complementary to the modified adenine bases adjacent to the junction centre were strongly reactive to potassium permanganate. The results indicate that binding of CCE1 results in a complete unpairing of the four central base-pairs of the junction, with a lesser disruption of the next base-pairs.

A real-time fluorescence method to monitor the melting of duplex DNA during transcription initiation by RNA polymerase

The melting of duplex DNA in the vicinity of the transcription start site is an essential step of transcription initiation. Here we describe a fluorescent promoter technique which allows the melting of promoter DNA to be observed in a real-time manner with high sensitivity. We have constructed a 114-bp lacUV5 promoter fragment (-89 to +25) which contains a fluorescence probe in the region between the -10 consensus hexamer and the transcription start site. This region was chosen to incorporate a fluorescence probe as it undergoes strand separation subsequent to binding RNA polymerase (RNAP) (i.e., open complex formation). Upon mixing RNAP and fluorochrome-labeled promoter a time-dependent biphasic change in fluorescence was observed. The second slower component was shown to be due to the open complex by comparing the fluorescence data with the kinetics of open complex formation as measured by using alternative methods of open complex detection. The rate constants for open complex formation and dissociation were determined and found to be in excellent agreement with previously reported values. The techniques presented herein can generally be applied to other systems. Furthermore, this method will serve as an important research tool as well as it could be used in designing high-throughput assays involving transcription complexes.

Stopped-flow kinetic analysis of the interaction of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase with the bacteriophage T7 A1 promoter

We have conducted a detailed kinetic and thermodynamic analysis of open complex formation between Escherichia coli RNA polymerase and the A1 promoter from bacteriophage T7 by monitoring alterations in the intrinsic protein fluorescence of RNA polymerase in stopped-flow kinetic studies. The stopped-flow kinetic data are consistent with a minimal model involving four steps for the formation of the open complex. Arrhenius plots for both the association and dissociation reactions for the equilibrium binding step leading to the formation of the closed complex were linear. With a positive van't Hoff enthalpy (DeltaHobs=18(+/-3) kcal mol-1) and a positive entropy (DeltaSobs=94(+/-15) e.u.) change for the equilibrium binding process, formation of the closed complex is entropy driven. The value of the apparent association rate constant for this binding step was approximately three orders of magnitude less than that expected for facilitated binding. Thus, a minimum of two steps is required to describe the formation of the closed complex. A fast facilitated binding step appears to be followed by a conformational change in RNA polymerase which leads to the formation of the closed complex. A non-linear Arrhenius plot obtained for the isomerization step in the conversion of the closed complex to an open one indicates that there are at least two steps in the conversion of the closed complex to an open one. We have assigned the apparent activation energy of 9.1(+/-1.9) kcal mol-1 to the step involving a conformational change in the protein and nucleation of strand separation and the apparent activation energy of 46(+/-12) kcal mol-1 to the step involving strand separation. At 37 degreesC, the value of the macroscopic isomerization rate constant (0.26(+/-0.02) s-1) in the conversion of the closed complex to an open one was an order of magnitude greater than the value reported in abortive initiation assays. This suggests that open complex formation is not the rate-determining step in the initiation of transcription in the case of the A1 promoter. To gain greater insight into the mechanism of initiation at the A1 promoter, we investigated the process of abortive product formation (pppApU) under conditions of non-saturating concentrations of the initiating nucleotide. A comparison of the lag times in the approach to the steady-state rate of abortive product formation when the reaction was initiated by the addition of UTP, ATP, the enzyme and the A1 promoter, respectively, indicates that the initiating nucleotide plays a key regulatory role in the initiation of transcription in the case of the A1 promoter.