Open AccessRNA polymerase complexes cooperate to relieve the nucleosomal barrier and evict histones
Author(s) -
Olga I. Kulaeva,
Fu-Kai Hsieh,
Vasily M. Studitsky
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.1001148107
Subject(s) - rna polymerase ii , histone octamer , nucleosome , histone , histone methylation , microbiology and biotechnology , chromatin , biology , transcription factor ii d , transcription (linguistics) , histone code , polymerase , chemistry , dna , genetics , gene expression , promoter , gene , dna methylation , rna dependent rna polymerase , linguistics , philosophy
Maintenance of the chromatin states and histone modification patterns during transcription is essential for proper gene regulation and cell survival. Histone octamer survives moderate transcription, but is evicted during intense transcription in vivo by RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Previously we have shown that nucleosomes can survive transcription by single Pol II complexes in vitro. To study the mechanism of histone displacement from DNA, the encounter between multiple complexes of RNA polymerase and a nucleosome was analyzed in vitro. Multiple transcribing Pol II complexes can efficiently overcome the high nucleosomal barrier and displace the entire histone octamer, matching the observations in vivo. DNA-bound histone hexamer left behind the first complex of transcribing enzyme is evicted by the next Pol II complex. Thus transcription by single Pol II complexes allows survival of the original H3/H4 histones, while multiple, closely spaced complexes of transcribing Pol II can induce displacement of all core histones along the gene.