Project description:Trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4me3) is associated with transcriptional start sites and proposed to regulate transcription initiation. However, redundant functions of the H3K4 SET1/COMPASS methyltransferase complexes complicate elucidation of the specific role of H3K4me3 in transcriptional regulation. Here, by using mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) as a model system, we show that acute ablation of shared subunits of the SET1/COMPASS complexes leads to complete loss of all H3K4 methylation. H3K4me3 turnover occurs more rapidly than H3K4me1 and H3K4me2 and is dependent on KDM5 demethylases. Surprisingly, acute loss of H3K4me3 does not have detectable effects on transcriptional initiation but leads to a widespread decrease in transcriptional output, an increase in RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) pausing and slower elongation. Notably, we show that H3K4me3 is required for the recruitment of the Integrator Complex Subunit 11 (INTS11), which is essential for the eviction of paused RNAPII and transcriptional elongation. Thus, our study demonstrates a distinct role for H3K4me3 in transcriptional pause-release and elongation rather than transcriptional initiation.
Project description:Trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4me3) is associated with transcriptional start sites and proposed to regulate transcription initiation. However, redundant functions of the H3K4 SET1/COMPASS methyltransferase complexes complicate elucidation of the specific role of H3K4me3 in transcriptional regulation. Here, we show that acute ablation of shared subunits of the SET1/COMPASS complexes leads to complete loss of all H3K4 methylation. H3K4me3 turnover occurs more rapidly than H3K4me1 and H3K4me2 and is dependent on KDM5 demethylases. Surprisingly, acute loss of H3K4me3 does not have detectable effects on transcriptional initiation but leads to a widespread decrease in transcriptional output, an increase in RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) pausing and slower elongation. Our study demonstrates a distinct role for H3K4me3 in transcriptional pause-release and elongation rather than transcriptional initiation.
Project description:Cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7), part of the general transcription factor TFIIH, promotes gene transcription by phosphorylating the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II). Here, we combine rapid CDK7 kinase inhibition with multi-omics analysis to unravel the direct functions of CDK7 in human cells. CDK7 inhibition causes RNA Pol II retention at promoters, leading to decreased RNA Pol II initiation and immediate global downregulation of transcript synthesis. Elongation, termination, and recruitment of co-transcriptional factors are not directly affected. Although RNA Pol II, initiation factors, and Mediator accumulate at promoters, RNA Pol II complexes can also proceed into gene bodies without promoter-proximal pausing while retaining initiation factors and Mediator. Further downstream, RNA Pol II phosphorylation increases and initiation factors and Mediator are released, allowing recruitment of elongation factors and an increase in RNA Pol II elongation velocity. Collectively, CDK7 kinase activity promotes the release of initiation factors and Mediator from RNA Pol II, facilitating RNA Pol II escape from the promoter.
Project description:RNA polymerase II (pol II) transcribes all protein-coding and many non-coding RNAs in the human genome. Pol II transcription initiation is governed by the Pre-Initiation Complex (PIC), which contains TFIIA, TFIIB, TFIID, TFIIE, TFIIF, TFIIH, pol II, and Mediator. After initiation, pol II enzymes typically pause after transcribing less than 100 bases, and paused polymerases represent a common regulatory intermediate. Accordingly, paused pol II has been implicated in enhancer function, development and homeostasis, and diseases ranging from cancer to viral pathogenesis. Precisely how pol II promoter-proximal pausing is enforced and regulated remains unclear; however, protein complexes such as NELF and DSIF increase pausing whereas the activity of CDK9 (P-TEFb complex) correlates with pause release. To address specific mechanistic questions about pol II pausing and its regulation, we reconstituted human pol II promoter-proximal pausing in vitro, entirely with purified factors (no extracts). As expected, NELF and DSIF increased pol II pausing in vitro, whereas P-TEFb promoted pause release. Unexpectedly, the PIC alone was sufficient to reconstitute pol II pausing, suggesting that pausing is an inherent property of the PIC. In agreement, pol II pausing was lost upon replacement of the TFIID complex with TATA-binding protein (TBP); moreover, pausing was dependent upon TFIID subunits TAF1 and TAF2. TAF1/2 bind genomic DNA downstream of the pol II initiation site, invoking a “complex interaction” model for pausing. Consistent with this model, PRO-Seq experiments revealed increased transcription upon acute depletion (t=60 min) of TAF1 and TAF2 in human cells, and pol II pausing was disrupted at thousands of genes. Similar results were obtained in TAF1-depleted Drosophila S2 cells. Collectively, these data establish the general transcription factor TFIID as a genome-wide regulator of pol II promoter-proximal pausing.
Project description:Cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7), part of general transcription factor TFIIH, promotes gene transcription by phosphorylating the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Here, we combine rapid CDK7 kinase inhibition with multi-omics analysis to unravel the direct functions of CDK7 in human cells. CDK7 inhibition causes Pol II retention at promoters, leading to decreased Pol II initiation and immediate global downregulation of transcript synthesis. Elongation, termination, and recruitment of co-transcriptional factors are not directly affected. Although Pol II, initiation factors, and Mediator accumulate at promoters, Pol II complexes can also proceed into gene bodies without promoter-proximal pausing while retaining initiation factors and Mediator. Further downstream, Pol II phosphorylation increases, initiation factors and Mediator are released, allowing recruitment of elongation factors and increase in Pol II elongation velocity. Collectively, CDK7 kinase activity promotes the release of initiation factors and Mediator from Pol II, facilitating Pol II escape from the promoter.
Project description:Yeast RNA polymerase II (Pol II) general transcription factor TFIIE and the TFIIH subunit Ssl2 (yeast ortholog of mammalian XPB) function in the transition of the preinitiation complex (PIC) to the open complex. We show that the three TFIIE winged-helix (WH) domains form a heterodimer, with the Tfa1 (TFIIEα) WH binding the Pol II clamp and the Tfa2 (TFIIEβ) tandem WH domain encircling promoter DNA that becomes single-stranded in the open complex. Ssl2 lies adjacent to TFIIE, enclosing downstream promoter DNA. Unlike previous proposals, comparison of the PIC and open-complex models strongly suggests that Ssl2 promotes DNA opening by functioning as a double-stranded-DNA translocase, feeding 15 base pairs into the Pol II cleft. Right-handed threading of DNA through the Ssl2 binding groove, combined with the fixed position of upstream promoter DNA, leads to DNA unwinding and the open state.
Project description:RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) carries out transcription of both protein-coding and non-coding genes. Whereas Pol II initiation at protein-coding genes has been studied in detail, Pol II initiation at non-coding genes such as small nuclear RNA (snRNA) genes is not understood at the structural level. Here we study Pol II initiation at snRNA gene promoters and show that the snRNA-activating protein complex (SNAPc) enables DNA opening and transcription initiation independent of TFIIE and TFIIH in vitro. We then resolve cryo-EM structures of the SNAPc-containing Pol II preinitiation complex (PIC) assembled on U1 and U5 snRNA promoters. The core of SNAPc binds two turns of DNA and recognizes the snRNA promoter-specific proximal sequence element (PSE) located upstream of the TATA box-binding protein TBP. Two extensions of SNAPc called wing-1 and wing-2 bind TFIIA and TFIIB, respectively, explaining how SNAPc directs Pol II to snRNA promoters. Comparison of structures of closed and open promoter complexes elucidates TFIIH-independent DNA opening. These results provide the structural basis of Pol II initiation at non-coding RNA gene promoters.
Project description:RNA polymerase III (Pol III) and transcription factor IIIB (TFIIIB) assemble together on different promoter types to initiate the transcription of small, structured RNAs. Here we present structures of Pol III preinitiation complexes, comprising the 17-subunit Pol III and the heterotrimeric transcription factor TFIIIB, bound to a natural promoter in different functional states. Electron cryo-microscopy reconstructions, varying from 3.7?Å to 5.5?Å resolution, include two early intermediates in which the DNA duplex is closed, an open DNA complex, and an initially transcribing complex with RNA in the active site. Our structures reveal an extremely tight, multivalent interaction between TFIIIB and promoter DNA, and explain how TFIIIB recruits Pol III. Together, TFIIIB and Pol III subunit C37 activate the intrinsic transcription factor-like activity of the Pol III-specific heterotrimer to initiate the melting of double-stranded DNA, in a mechanism similar to that of the Pol II system.
Project description:RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription initiation starts with the assembly of the preinitiation complex (PIC) on core promoters. The PIC is composed of six general transcription factors (GTFs). The recognition of the core promoter sequences by the TFIID GTF complex is the first step of the PIC assembly. In metazoans, holo-TFIID is composed of the TATA binding protein (TBP) and of 13 TBP associated factors (TAFs). Genetic depletion of different murine TAFs have shown that TAFs such as TAF7 or TAF10, can be either required, or dispensable for Pol II transcription, depending on different cellular contexts. In this report, we depleted TAF7 and/or TAF10 in the same cellular system; either in mesodermal progenitors during mouse development or in mESCs. In these two models, TAF7 depletion leads to a milder phenotype compared to TAF10 depletion. As TAF10 is also a subunit of the transcriptional co-activator Spt-Ada-Gcn5 acetyl transferase (SAGA), we first showed that the difference in phenotype between the Taf7 and Taf10 mutant is not due to the SAGA effect, at least for mESCs. Immunoprecipitations coupled with mass spectrometry analyses from mESCs lysates assembly of holo-TFIID complex is rapidly affected after induction of the depletion. In line with the model of holo-TFIID sequential assembly, TAF10 depletion leads to an early defect with formation of the core-TFIID, while TAF7 depletion results in the formation of a TAF7-less TFIID. Thus, the difference in phenotype severity correlates with the degree of TFIID disassembly. Surprisingly, no major global changes in Pol II transcription could be observed after either TAF7 or TAF10 depletion. Our data suggest that the inducible loss of fully assembled canonical TFIID does not correlate with the lack of global Pol II transcription activity changes suggesting that partially assembled TFIID complexes can participate in Pol II transcription initiation, with only limited effect on Pol II nascent transcription.