Publication Date:
2016-05-20
Description:
Transcription of eukaryotic protein-coding genes begins with assembly of the RNA polymerase (Pol) II initiation complex and promoter DNA opening. Here we report cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of yeast initiation complexes containing closed and open DNA at resolutions of 8.8 A and 3.6 A, respectively. DNA is positioned and retained over the Pol II cleft by a network of interactions between the TATA-box-binding protein TBP and transcription factors TFIIA, TFIIB, TFIIE, and TFIIF. DNA opening occurs around the tip of the Pol II clamp and the TFIIE 'extended winged helix' domain, and can occur in the absence of TFIIH. Loading of the DNA template strand into the active centre may be facilitated by movements of obstructing protein elements triggered by allosteric binding of the TFIIE 'E-ribbon' domain. The results suggest a unified model for transcription initiation with a key event, the trapping of open promoter DNA by extended protein-protein and protein-DNA contacts.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Plaschka, C -- Hantsche, M -- Dienemann, C -- Burzinski, C -- Plitzko, J -- Cramer, P -- England -- Nature. 2016 May 11;533(7603):353-8. doi: 10.1038/nature17990.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Molecular Biology, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Gottingen, Germany. ; Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27193681" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Print ISSN:
0028-0836
Electronic ISSN:
1476-4687
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
