Regulation of elongating RNA polymerase II by forkhead transcription factors in yeast

Antonin Morillon; Justin O'Sullivan; Abul Azad; Nicholas Proudfoot; Jane Mellor

doi:10.1126/science.1081379

Regulation of elongating RNA polymerase II by forkhead transcription factors in yeast

Science. 2003 Apr 18;300(5618):492-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1081379.

Authors

Antonin Morillon¹, Justin O'Sullivan, Abul Azad, Nicholas Proudfoot, Jane Mellor

Affiliation

¹ Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK.

PMID: 12702877
DOI: 10.1126/science.1081379

Abstract

The elongation phase of transcription by RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) is highly regulated and tightly linked to pre-messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) processing. Recent studies have implicated an early elongation checkpoint that facilitates the link to pre-mRNA processing. Here we show that the yeast forkhead transcription factors, Fkh1p and Fkh2p, associate with the coding regions of active genes and influence, in opposing ways, transcriptional elongation and termination. These events are coordinated with serine-5 and -2 phosphorylation of the heptad repeat of the carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of RNAPII. Our results suggest that, in addition to their documented promoter function, Fkh1p and Fkh2p coordinate early transcription elongation and pre-mRNA processing. This may reflect a general feature of gene regulation in eukaryotes.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism*
Cyclin B / genetics
Cyclin B / metabolism
Forkhead Transcription Factors
Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal
Genes, Fungal*
Phosphoprotein Phosphatases / metabolism
Phosphorylation
Phosphoserine / metabolism
Promoter Regions, Genetic
RNA Polymerase II / metabolism*
RNA Precursors / metabolism
RNA, Fungal / metabolism
RNA, Messenger / metabolism
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
Saccharomyces cerevisiae / enzymology
Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics
Saccharomyces cerevisiae / growth & development
Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism*
Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / genetics
Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / metabolism*
Transcription Factors / metabolism*
Transcription, Genetic* / drug effects
Uracil / analogs & derivatives*
Uracil / pharmacology

Substances

CLB2 protein, S cerevisiae
Cell Cycle Proteins
Cyclin B
Fkh1 protein, S cerevisiae
Fkh2 protein, S cerevisiae
Forkhead Transcription Factors
RNA Precursors
RNA, Fungal
RNA, Messenger
Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
Transcription Factors
Phosphoserine
Uracil
RNA Polymerase II
Phosphoprotein Phosphatases
carboxy-terminal domain phosphatase
azauracil