Open AccessThe Release Element of the Yeast Polymerase I Transcription Terminator Can Function Independently of Reb1p
Author(s) -
Shinwu Jeong,
Walter H. Lang,
Ronald H. Reeder
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
molecular and cellular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.14
H-Index - 327
eISSN - 1067-8824
pISSN - 0270-7306
DOI - 10.1128/mcb.15.11.5929
Subject(s) - biology , terminator (solar) , transcription (linguistics) , yeast , polymerase , genetics , rna polymerase ii , microbiology and biotechnology , computational biology , gene , promoter , gene expression , physics , ionosphere , philosophy , linguistics , astronomy
The Saccharomyces cerevisiae polymerase I (polI) transcription terminator utilizes a DNA-binding protein (Reb1p) as part of a signal that causes the polymerase to pause prior to release from the template. To study the release element of the terminator, independent of the Reb1p pause signal, we have replaced the Reb1p binding site with the binding site for the lac repressor, which acts as a self-contained heterologous pause signal for polI. Release efficiency is maximal when the lac repressor causes polI to pause in exactly the same position that Reb1p would have caused it to pause, suggesting that polI must be precisely positioned for transcript release to occur. Mutational analysis shows that the release element is a region rich in T residues which codes for the extreme 3' end of the transcript and which has no apparent ability to form hairpins when transcribed into RNA. We discuss possible mechanisms whereby this polI release element might function.