The β Subunit Gate Loop Is Required for RNA Polymerase Modification by RfaH and NusG

Transcription is an intrinsically dynamic process and requires the coordinated interplay of RNA polymerases (RNAPs) with nucleic acids and transcription factors. Classical structural biology techniques have revealed detailed snapshots of a subset of conformational states of the RNAP as they exist in crystals. A detailed view of the conformational space sampled by the RNAP and the molecular mechanisms of the basal transcription factors E (TFE) and Spt4/5 through conformational constraints has remained elusive. We monitored the conformational changes of the flexible clamp of the RNAP by combining a fluorescently labeled recombinant 12-subunit RNAP system with single-molecule FRET measurements. We measured and compared the distances across the DNA binding channel of the archaeal RNAP. Our results show that the transition of the closed to the open initiation complex, which occurs concomitant with DNA melting, is coordinated with an opening of the RNAP clamp that is stimulated by TFE. We show that the clamp in elongation complexes is modulated by the nontemplate strand and by the processivity factor Spt4/5, both of which stimulate transcription processivity. Taken together, our results reveal an intricate network of interactions within transcription complexes between RNAP, transcription factors, and nucleic acids that allosterically modulate the RNAP during the transcription cycle.

Section: Dna Melting Correlates With Clamp Openingsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Dna Melting Correlates With Clamp Openingmentioning

confidence: 99%

TFE and Spt4/5 open and close the RNA polymerase clamp during the transcription cycle

Schulz

Gietl

Smollett

et al. 2016

“…We identified an HTTT motif as a contact point of RfaH to the GL and replaced corresponding SWHL residues in NusG with four alanines. This substitution abolished the NusG antipausing activity but not the binding to the TEC because the same variant was fully capable of enhancing Rho-dependent termination (7). We therefore attributed the loss of the anti-pausing activity to the loss of NusG-GL contacts.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…S1A), and it is essential for viability in E. coli (7). However, our findings that the enzyme lacking the GL did not exhibit defects in Rho-dependent termination (7), the essential function of NusG, suggested a different role for the GL.…”

mentioning

confidence: 72%

RNA polymerase gate loop guides the nontemplate DNA strand in transcription complexes

NandyMazumdar

Nedialkov

Svetlov

et al. 2016

Self Cite

Upon RNA polymerase (RNAP) binding to a promoter, the σ factor initiates DNA strand separation and captures the melted nontemplate DNA, whereas the core enzyme establishes interactions with the duplex DNA in front of the active site that stabilize initiation complexes and persist throughout elongation. Among many core RNAP elements that participate in these interactions, the β′ clamp domain plays the most prominent role. In this work, we investigate the role of the β gate loop, a conserved and essential structural element that lies across the DNA channel from the clamp, in transcription regulation. The gate loop was proposed to control DNA loading during initiation and to interact with NusG-like proteins to lock RNAP in a closed, processive state during elongation. We show that the removal of the gate loop has large effects on promoter complexes, trapping an unstable intermediate in which the RNAP contacts with the nontemplate strand discriminator region and the downstream duplex DNA are not yet fully established. We find that although RNAP lacking the gate loop displays moderate defects in pausing, transcript cleavage, and termination, it is fully responsive to the transcription elongation factor NusG. Together with the structural data, our results support a model in which the gate loop, acting in concert with initiation or elongation factors, guides the nontemplate DNA in transcription complexes, thereby modulating their regulatory properties.D uring each round of transcription, RNA polymerase (RNAP) establishes, maintains, and finally releases contacts with the DNA template and the RNA. These interactions mediate highly selective initiation, processive elongation, and precise termination and can be tuned to enable intricate regulation during the transcription cycle. RNAP resembles a crab claw in which the two pincers composed of the β′ and β subunits form an active site cleft that accommodates the nucleic acid chains (Fig. 1). The mobile β′ clamp domain that forms one of the pincers stands out as a central regulatory feature (1,2). The open clamp likely allows the loading of the promoter DNA during initiation and the release of the template and the nascent RNA during termination. The clamp is thought to close to form an active initiation complex and to remain closed during elongation but may open partially at a hairpindependent pause site (3).The clamp movements may be linked to those of the β lobe domain, which forms a part of the second pincer. The β gate loop (GL), which lies across the RNAP cleft from the tip of the clamp (Fig. 1), has been identified as an element that restricts the entry of the duplex promoter DNA into the narrow active site cleft (4), allowing only a single strand of DNA to pass through. This model posited that the DNA stands must separate outside the cleft before entry into RNAP, whereas footprinting studies demonstrated that the promoter DNA enters the active site cleft before it is opened (5). This controversy was a subject of an intense debate until a recent study revealed that the...

“…Another mechanism is used by RfaH, the beststudied cell-encoded processive antiterminator, which interacts with the coiled-coil motif of the β′ clamp domain and the β gate loop (Fig. 1A) and encloses the RNA-DNA hybrid within the RNAP channel, resulting in suppression of transcription pausing and, probably, TEC stabilization (15).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct pathways of RNA polymerase regulation by a phage-encoded factor

Esyunina

Klimuk

Severinov

et al. 2015

Transcription antitermination is a common strategy of gene expression regulation, but only a few transcription antitermination factors have been studied in detail. Here, we dissect the transcription antitermination mechanism of Xanthomonas oryzae virus Xp10 protein p7, which binds host RNA polymerase (RNAP) and regulates both transcription initiation and termination. We show that p7 suppresses intrinsic termination by decreasing RNAP pausing and increasing the transcription complex stability, in cooperation with host-encoded factor NusA. Uniquely, the antitermination activity of p7 depends on the ω subunit of the RNAP core and is modulated by ppGpp. In contrast, the inhibition of transcription initiation by p7 does not require ω but depends on other RNAP sites. Our results suggest that p7, a bifunctional transcription factor, uses distinct mechanisms to control different steps of transcription. We propose that regulatory functions of the ω subunit revealed by our analysis may extend to its homologs in eukaryotic RNAPs.RNA polymerase | transcription antitermination | transcription pausing | omega subunit | NusA T ranscription promoters and terminators are the main "punctuation marks" that control the expression of individual genes in the genome. In bacteria, transcription termination is an essential regulatory step that determines the relative levels of expression of promoter-proximal and distal genes within operons. Depending on the factors involved, transcription termination in bacteria can be classified as intrinsic (depends on RNAencoded signals) or factor-dependent (requires additional protein factors such as Rho helicase). Intrinsic terminators consist of a G/C-rich hairpin formed in the nascent RNA followed by a downstream oligo(U) tract. During intrinsic termination, RNA polymerase (RNAP) pauses after synthesizing an oligo(U) sequence, accompanied by hairpin formation, leading to subsequent dissociation of the transcription elongation complex (TEC) (1, 2). Despite the relatively simple overall scenario, the exact mechanisms of pausing and hairpin-induced TEC destabilization remain an issue of debate (1, 3).Transcription antitermination is a widespread phenomenon involved in regulation of bacterial and phage operons (2). Transcription antitermination is often mediated by specialized protein factors that target host RNAP and can suppress termination at multiple sites in the operon. The well-studied examples of phage antiterminators include proteins N and Q of Escherichia coli phage λ and the gp39 protein of Thermus thermophilus phage P23-45. These factors suppress RNAP pausing, thus inhibiting the first step of the termination pathway (4-6). The antitermination activity of N and Q, but not gp39, is enhanced by cell-encoded proteins, including transcription elongation factor NusA, which by itself stimulates termination but reverses its activity to additionally stabilize the TEC in cooperation with N and Q (5, 6). Curiously, the N, Q, gp39, and NusA proteins all target the flexible β flap domain of RNAP (2, 4...