title: Structural basis for initiation of transcription from an RNA polymerase-promoter complex.
abstract: Although the single-polypeptide-chain RNA polymerase from bacteriophage T7 (T7RNAP), like other RNA polymerases, uses the same mechanism of polymerization as the DNA polymerases, it can also recognize a specific promoter sequence, initiate new RNA chains from a single nucleotide, abortively cycle the synthesis of short transcripts, be regulated by a transcription inhibitor, and terminate transcription. As T7RNAP is homologous to the Pol I family of DNA polymerases, the differences between the structure of T7RNAP complexed to substrates and that of the corresponding DNA polymerase complex provides a structural basis for understanding many of these functional differences. T7RNAP initiates RNA synthesis at promoter sequences that are conserved from positions -17 to +6 relative to the start site of transcription. The crystal structure at 2.4 A resolution of T7RNAP complexed with a 17-base-pair promoter shows that the four base pairs closest to the catalytic active site have melted to form a transcription bubble. The T7 promoter sequence is recognized by interactions in the major groove between an antiparallel beta-loop and bases. The amino-terminal domain is involved in promoter recognition and DNA melting. We have also used homology modelling of the priming and incoming nucleoside triphosphates from the T7 DNA-polymerase ternary complex structure to explain the specificity of T7RNAP for ribonucleotides, its ability to initiate from a single nucleotide, and the abortive cycling at the initiation of transcription.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8114, USA.
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Cheetham
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jeruzalmi
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Steitz
mesh_terms: D017123:Bacteriophage T7 / Q000201:enzymology; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011487:Protein Conformation; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014764:Viral Proteins
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins; D004247:DNA; C062210:bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases