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A unified allosteric/torpedo mechanism for transcriptional termination on human protein-coding genes.

ABSTRACT: The allosteric and torpedo models have been used for 30 yr to explain how transcription terminates on protein-coding genes. The former invokes termination via conformational changes in the transcription complex and the latter proposes that degradation of the downstream product of poly(A) signal (PAS) processing is important. Here, we describe a single mechanism incorporating features of both models. We show that termination is completely abolished by rapid elimination of CPSF73, which causes very extensive transcriptional readthrough genome-wide. This is because CPSF73 functions upstream of modifications to the elongation complex and provides an entry site for the XRN2 torpedo. Rapid depletion of XRN2 enriches these events that we show are underpinned by protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) activity, the inhibition of which extends readthrough in the absence of XRN2. Our results suggest a combined allosteric/torpedo mechanism, in which PP1-dependent slowing down of polymerases over termination regions facilitates their pursuit/capture by XRN2 following PAS processing.

SUBMITTER: Eaton JD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6938672 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A unified allosteric/torpedo mechanism for transcriptional termination on human protein-coding genes

Project description:The so-called allosteric and torpedo models have been used for the past thirty years to explain how transcription terminates on protein-coding genes. The former invokes conformational changes in the transcription complex and the latter involves degradation of the downstream product of poly(A) signal (PAS) processing. Here, we describe a single mechanism incorporating features of both models. We show that CPSF73 is indispensable for transcriptional termination on protein-coding and its loss causes profound read-through genome-wide. CPSF73 functions upstream of allosteric modifications to the elongation complex that cause Pol II to slow down after the PAS. This state is enriched by rapid depletion of XRN2 and promoted by protein phosphatase 1 (PP1), the inhibition of which confers runaway read-through in the absence of XRN2. These allosteric changes facilitate XRN2-dependent termination, by aiding its capture of Pol II, rather than constituting a termination pathway in themselves. Our experiments unify the long-standing allosteric and torpedo models for transcriptional termination.

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