Faculty Bibliography

We obtained an 11 subunit model of RNA polymerase (Pol) III by combining a homology model of the nine subunit core enzyme with a new X-ray structure of the subcomplex C17/25. Compared to Pol II, Pol III shows a conserved active center for RNA synthesis but a structurally different upstream face for specific initiation complex assembly during promoter selection. The Pol III upstream face includes a HRDC domain in subunit C17 that is translated by 35 A and rotated by 150 degrees compared to its Pol II counterpart. The HRDC domain is essential in vivo, folds independently in vitro, and, unlike other HRDC domains, shows no indication of nucleic acid binding. Thus, the HRDC domain is a functional module that could account for the role of C17 in Pol III promoter-specific initiation. During elongation, C17/25 may bind Pol III transcripts emerging from the adjacent exit pore, because the subcomplex binds to tRNA in vitro.

Two complementary X-ray studies of the interaction between RNA polymerase II and nucleic acids have improved our understanding of mRNA elongation. These studies suggest how RNA polymerase II unwinds DNA, how it separates the RNA product from the DNA template and how it incorporates nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) substrates into the growing RNA chain. The tunable polymerase active center apparently allows repositioning of a catalytic metal ion, rotation of NTPs before their incorporation, RNA repositioning by a transcript cleavage factor, and modulation of enzyme activity by a bacterial small molecule regulator and its protein cofactor.

We determined the x-ray structure of the RNA polymerase (Pol) II subcomplex Rpb4/7 at 2.3 A resolution, combined it with a previous structure of the 10-subunit polymerase core, and refined an atomic model of the complete 12-subunit Pol II at 3.8-A resolution. Comparison of the complete Pol II structure with structures of the Pol II core and free Rpb4/7 shows that the core-Rpb4/7 interaction goes along with formation of an alpha-helix in the linker region of the largest Pol II subunit and with folding of the conserved Rpb7 tip loop. Details of the core-Rpb4/7 interface explain facilitated Rpb4/7 dissociation in a temperature-sensitive Pol II mutant and specific assembly of Pol I with its Rpb4/7 counterpart, A43/14. The refined atomic model of Pol II serves as the new reference structure for analysis of the transcription mechanism and enables structure solution of complexes of the complete enzyme with additional factors and nucleic acids by molecular replacement.

The crystal structure of the complete 12 subunit RNA polymerase (pol) II bound to a transcription bubble and product RNA reveals incoming template and nontemplate DNA, a seven base pair DNA/RNA hybrid, and three nucleotides each of separating DNA and RNA. The complex adopts the posttranslocation state and accommodates a cocrystallized nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) substrate. The NTP binds in the active site pore at a position to interact with a DNA template base. Residues surrounding the NTP are conserved in all cellular RNA polymerases, suggesting a universal mechanism of NTP selection and incorporation. DNA-DNA and DNA-RNA strand separation may be explained by pol II-induced duplex distortions. Four protein loops partition the active center cleft, contribute to embedding the hybrid, prevent strand reassociation, and create an RNA exit tunnel. Binding of the elongation factor TFIIS realigns RNA in the active center, possibly converting the elongation complex to an alternative state less prone to stalling.

The transcription elongation factor TFIIS induces mRNA cleavage by enhancing the intrinsic nuclease activity of RNA polymerase (Pol) II. We have diffused TFIIS into Pol II crystals and derived a model of the Pol II-TFIIS complex from X-ray diffraction data to 3.8 A resolution. TFIIS extends from the polymerase surface via a pore to the internal active site, spanning a distance of 100 A. Two essential and invariant acidic residues in a TFIIS loop complement the Pol II active site and could position a metal ion and a water molecule for hydrolytic RNA cleavage. TFIIS also induces extensive structural changes in Pol II that would realign nucleic acids in the active center. Our results support the idea that Pol II contains a single tunable active site for RNA polymerization and cleavage, in contrast to DNA polymerases with two separate active sites for DNA polymerization and cleavage.

RNA polymerase (Pol) II consists of a 10-polypeptide catalytic core and the two-subunit Rpb4/7 complex that is required for transcription initiation. Previous structures of the Pol II core revealed a "clamp," which binds the DNA template strand via three "switch regions," and a flexible "linker" to the C-terminal repeat domain (CTD). Here we derived a model of the complete Pol II by fitting structures of the core and Rpb4/7 to a 4.2-A crystallographic electron density map. Rpb4/7 protrudes from the polymerase "upstream face," on which initiation factors assemble for promoter DNA loading. Rpb7 forms a wedge between the clamp and the linker, restricting the clamp to a closed position. The wedge allosterically prevents entry of the promoter DNA duplex into the active center cleft and induces in two switch regions a conformation poised for template-strand binding. Interaction of Rpb4/7 with the linker explains Rpb4-mediated recruitment of the CTD phosphatase to the CTD during Pol II recycling. The core-Rpb7 interaction and some functions of Rpb4/7 are apparently conserved in all eukaryotic and archaeal RNA polymerases but not in the bacterial enzyme.