Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1989 May;86(9):3155–3158. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.9.3155

High initiation rates at the ribosomal gene promoter do not depend upon spacer transcription.

P Labhart 1, R H Reeder 1
PMCID: PMC287084  PMID: 2470092

Abstract

We report experiments that test the model that in Xenopus laevis, RNA polymerase I is "handed over" in a conservative fashion from the T3 terminator to the adjacent gene promoter. We have introduced transcription-terminating lesions into the ribosomal DNA repeat by irradiating cultured cells with ultraviolet light. We used isolated nuclei to measure the effect of such lesions on transcription. UV damage sufficient to prevent all elongating RNA polymerase from reaching T3 from upstream had no adverse effect on the density of RNA polymerase at the very 5' end of the gene. We conclude that high rates of transcription initiation at the gene promoter do not depend upon polymerase passing from one repeat to the next or on polymerase initiating at the spacer promoters.

Full text

PDF
3155

Images in this article

3157Image
on p.3157
3158Image
on p.3158

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bartsch I., Schoneberg C., Grummt I. Evolutionary changes of sequences and factors that direct transcription termination of human and mouse ribsomal genes. Mol Cell Biol. 1987 Jul;7(7):2521–2529. doi: 10.1128/mcb.7.7.2521. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bateman E., Paule M. R. Promoter occlusion during ribosomal RNA transcription. Cell. 1988 Sep 23;54(7):985–992. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90113-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cassidy B. G., Yang-Yen H. F., Rothblum L. I. Additional RNA polymerase I initiation site within the nontranscribed spacer region of the rat rRNA gene. Mol Cell Biol. 1987 Jul;7(7):2388–2396. doi: 10.1128/mcb.7.7.2388. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Coen E. S., Dover G. A. Multiple Pol I initiation sequences in rDNA spacers of Drosophila melanogaster. Nucleic Acids Res. 1982 Nov 11;10(21):7017–7026. doi: 10.1093/nar/10.21.7017. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Crampton J. M., Woodland H. R. A cell-free assay system for the analysis of changes in RNA synthesis during the development of Xenopus laevis. Dev Biol. 1979 Jun;70(2):453–466. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(79)90038-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. De Winter R. F., Moss T. Spacer promoters are essential for efficient enhancement of X. laevis ribosomal transcription. Cell. 1986 Jan 31;44(2):313–318. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90765-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. De Winter R. F., Moss T. The ribosomal spacer in Xenopus laevis is transcribed as part of the primary ribosomal RNA. Nucleic Acids Res. 1986 Aug 11;14(15):6041–6051. doi: 10.1093/nar/14.15.6041. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Goldberg S., Weber J., Darnell J. E., Jr The definition of a large viral transcription unit late in Ad2 infection of HeLa cells: mapping by effects of ultraviolet irradiation. Cell. 1977 Apr;10(4):617–621. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(77)90094-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Grummt I., Kuhn A., Bartsch I., Rosenbauer H. A transcription terminator located upstream of the mouse rDNA initiation site affects rRNA synthesis. Cell. 1986 Dec 26;47(6):901–911. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90805-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Grummt I., Maier U., Ohrlein A., Hassouna N., Bachellerie J. P. Transcription of mouse rDNA terminates downstream of the 3' end of 28S RNA and involves interaction of factors with repeated sequences in the 3' spacer. Cell. 1985 Dec;43(3 Pt 2):801–810. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(85)90253-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Grummt I., Rosenbauer H., Niedermeyer I., Maier U., Ohrlein A. A repeated 18 bp sequence motif in the mouse rDNA spacer mediates binding of a nuclear factor and transcription termination. Cell. 1986 Jun 20;45(6):837–846. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90558-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hackett P. B., Sauerbier W. The transcriptional organization of the ribosomal RNA genes in mouse L cells. J Mol Biol. 1975 Jan 25;91(3):235–256. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(75)90378-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Henderson S., Sollner-Webb B. A transcriptional terminator is a novel element of the promoter of the mouse ribosomal RNA gene. Cell. 1986 Dec 26;47(6):891–900. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90804-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Johnson P. J., Kooter J. M., Borst P. Inactivation of transcription by UV irradiation of T. brucei provides evidence for a multicistronic transcription unit including a VSG gene. Cell. 1987 Oct 23;51(2):273–281. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90154-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kermekchiev M. B., Grummt I. Natural point mutations within rat rDNA transcription terminator elements reveal the functional importance of single bases for factor binding and termination. Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 May 26;15(10):4131–4143. doi: 10.1093/nar/15.10.4131. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kuhn A., Grummt I. A novel promoter in the mouse rDNA spacer is active in vivo and in vitro. EMBO J. 1987 Nov;6(11):3487–3492. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02673.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Labhart P., Reeder R. H. Characterization of three sites of RNA 3' end formation in the Xenopus ribosomal gene spacer. Cell. 1986 May 9;45(3):431–443. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90329-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Labhart P., Reeder R. H. DNA sequences for typical ribosomal gene spacers from Xenopus laevis and Xenopus borealis. Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 Apr 24;15(8):3623–3624. doi: 10.1093/nar/15.8.3623. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Lucchini R., Reeder R. H. A test of 'polymerase handover' as a mechanism for stimulating initiation by RNA polymerase I. Nucleic Acids Res. 1989 Jan 11;17(1):373–387. doi: 10.1093/nar/17.1.373. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. McStay B., Reeder R. H. A termination site for Xenopus RNA polymerase I also acts as an element of an adjacent promoter. Cell. 1986 Dec 26;47(6):913–920. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90806-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Mitchelson K., Moss T. The enhancement of ribosomal transcription by the recycling of RNA polymerase I. Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 Nov 25;15(22):9577–9596. doi: 10.1093/nar/15.22.9577. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Moss T. A transcriptional function for the repetitive ribosomal spacer in Xenopus laevis. Nature. 1983 Mar 17;302(5905):223–228. doi: 10.1038/302223a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Murtif V. L., Rae P. M. In vivo transcription of rDNA spacers in Drosophila. Nucleic Acids Res. 1985 May 10;13(9):3221–3239. doi: 10.1093/nar/13.9.3221. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Pruitt S. C., Reeder R. H. Effect of intercalating agents on RNA polymerase I promoter selection in Xenopus laevis. Mol Cell Biol. 1984 Dec;4(12):2851–2857. doi: 10.1128/mcb.4.12.2851. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Sauerbier W., Hercules K. Gene and transcription unit mapping by radiation effects. Annu Rev Genet. 1978;12:329–363. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.12.120178.001553. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Tautz D., Dover G. A. Transcription of the tandem array of ribosomal DNA in Drosophila melanogaster does not terminate at any fixed point. EMBO J. 1986 Jun;5(6):1267–1273. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1986.tb04356.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES