Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Nucleic Acids Research logoLink to Nucleic Acids Research
. 1992 Apr 11;20(7):1573–1578. doi: 10.1093/nar/20.7.1573

The proximal promoter and the start site cooperate to specify correct U1 snRNA transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II.

A Lescure 1, S Murgo 1, P Carbon 1, A Krol 1
PMCID: PMC312240  PMID: 1579449

Abstract

In this work, we attempted to gain insight into the detailed mechanism allowing correct transcription initiation of U1 snRNA genes by RNA polymerase II. Abolition of the CA motif residing at -1/+1 in the Xenopus U1 gene leads to a loss of the ability of the promoter to direct accurate initiation. A discrete site is selected only if a purine preceded by a pyrimidine is positioned at 58/57 bp downstream of the center of the PSE. The PSE alone is unable to designate a discrete initiation site. Rather, it serves to set the location of an initiation window without discriminating suitable from unsuitable initiation sites. The latter role is devoted to a PyPu sequence positioned at -1/+1. Therefore, it is the concomitant action of the PSE and an essential PyPu positioned at the proper distance from this promoter that specifies correct U1 snRNA transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II.

Full text

PDF
1573

Images in this article

1574Image
on p.1574
1575Image
on p.1575
1576Image
on p.1576
1576Image
on p.1576
1577Image
on p.1577

Selected References

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

  1. Ciliberto G., Palla F., Tebb G., Mattaj I. W., Philipson L. Properties of a U1 RNA enhancer-like sequence. Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 Mar 25;15(6):2403–2416. doi: 10.1093/nar/15.6.2403. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Dahlberg J. E., Schenborn E. T. The human U1 snRNA promoter and enhancer do not direct synthesis of messenger RNA. Nucleic Acids Res. 1988 Jul 11;16(13):5827–5840. doi: 10.1093/nar/16.13.5827. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Furter-Graves E. M., Hall B. D. DNA sequence elements required for transcription initiation of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe ADH gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Gen Genet. 1990 Sep;223(3):407–416. doi: 10.1007/BF00264447. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hernandez N., Lucito R. Elements required for transcription initiation of the human U2 snRNA gene coincide with elements required for snRNA 3' end formation. EMBO J. 1988 Oct;7(10):3125–3134. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1988.tb03179.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Jensen E. G., Hellung-Larsen P., Frederiksen S. Synthesis of low molecular weight RNA components A, C and D by polymerase II in alpha-amanitin-resistant hamster cells. Nucleic Acids Res. 1979 Jan;6(1):321–330. doi: 10.1093/nar/6.1.321. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Krol A., Lund E., Dahlberg J. E. The two embryonic U1 RNA genes of Xenopus laevis have both common and gene-specific transcription signals. EMBO J. 1985 Jun;4(6):1529–1535. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1985.tb03813.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Lescure A., Carbon P., Krol A. The different positioning of the proximal sequence element in the Xenopus RNA polymerase II and III snRNA promoters is a key determinant which confers RNA polymerase III specificity. Nucleic Acids Res. 1991 Feb 11;19(3):435–441. doi: 10.1093/nar/19.3.435. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Lund E., Bostock C. J., Dahlberg J. E. The transcription of Xenopus laevis embryonic U1 snRNA genes changes when oocytes mature into eggs. Genes Dev. 1987 Mar;1(1):47–56. doi: 10.1101/gad.1.1.47. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Mattaj I. W. Cap trimethylation of U snRNA is cytoplasmic and dependent on U snRNP protein binding. Cell. 1986 Sep 12;46(6):905–911. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90072-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mattaj I. W., Dathan N. A., Parry H. D., Carbon P., Krol A. Changing the RNA polymerase specificity of U snRNA gene promoters. Cell. 1988 Nov 4;55(3):435–442. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90029-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Murgo S., Krol A., Carbon P. Sequence, organization and transcriptional analysis of a gene encoding a U1 snRNA from the axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum. Gene. 1991 Mar 15;99(2):163–170. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(91)90123-s. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Murphy J. T., Skuzeski J. T., Lund E., Steinberg T. H., Burgess R. R., Dahlberg J. E. Functional elements of the human U1 RNA promoter. Identification of five separate regions required for efficient transcription and template competition. J Biol Chem. 1987 Feb 5;262(4):1795–1803. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Neuman de Vegvar H. E., Dahlberg J. E. Initiation and termination of human U1 RNA transcription requires the concerted action of multiple flanking elements. Nucleic Acids Res. 1989 Nov 25;17(22):9305–9318. doi: 10.1093/nar/17.22.9305. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Parry H. D., Tebb G., Mattaj I. W. The Xenopus U2 gene PSE is a single, compact, element required for transcription initiation and 3' end formation. Nucleic Acids Res. 1989 May 25;17(10):3633–3644. doi: 10.1093/nar/17.10.3633. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Roy A. L., Meisterernst M., Pognonec P., Roeder R. G. Cooperative interaction of an initiator-binding transcription initiation factor and the helix-loop-helix activator USF. Nature. 1991 Nov 21;354(6350):245–248. doi: 10.1038/354245a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Skuzeski J. M., Lund E., Murphy J. T., Steinberg T. H., Burgess R. R., Dahlberg J. E. Synthesis of human U1 RNA. II. Identification of two regions of the promoter essential for transcription initiation at position +1. J Biol Chem. 1984 Jul 10;259(13):8345–8352. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Smale S. T., Baltimore D. The "initiator" as a transcription control element. Cell. 1989 Apr 7;57(1):103–113. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90176-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Tanaka M., Grossniklaus U., Herr W., Hernandez N. Activation of the U2 snRNA promoter by the octamer motif defines a new class of RNA polymerase II enhancer elements. Genes Dev. 1988 Dec;2(12B):1764–1778. doi: 10.1101/gad.2.12b.1764. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Tebb G., Bohmann D., Mattaj I. W. Only two of the four sites of interaction with nuclear factors within the Xenopus U2 gene promoter are necessary for efficient transcription. Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 Aug 25;15(16):6437–6453. doi: 10.1093/nar/15.16.6437. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Tebb G., Mattaj I. W. Positionally exact initiation is required for the formation of a stable RNA polymerase II transcription complex in vivo. EMBO J. 1988 Dec 1;7(12):3785–3792. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1988.tb03263.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Nucleic Acids Research are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES