title: Recognition of RNA polymerase II carboxy-terminal domain by 3'-RNA-processing factors.
abstract: During transcription, RNA polymerase (Pol) II synthesizes eukaryotic messenger RNA. Transcription is coupled to RNA processing by the carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of Pol II, which consists of up to 52 repeats of the sequence Tyr 1-Ser 2-Pro 3-Thr 4-Ser 5-Pro 6-Ser 7 (refs 1, 2). After phosphorylation, the CTD binds tightly to a conserved CTD-interacting domain (CID) present in the proteins Pcf11 and Nrd1, which are essential and evolutionarily conserved factors for polyadenylation-dependent and -independent 3'-RNA processing, respectively. Here we describe the structure of a Ser 2-phosphorylated CTD peptide bound to the CID domain of Pcf11. The CTD motif Ser 2-Pro 3-Thr 4-Ser 5 forms a beta-turn that binds to a conserved groove in the CID domain. The Ser 2 phosphate group does not make direct contact with the CID domain, but may be recognized indirectly because it stabilizes the beta-turn with an additional hydrogen bond. Iteration of the peptide structure results in a compact beta-spiral model of the CTD. The model suggests that, during the mRNA transcription-processing cycle, compact spiral regions in the CTD are unravelled and regenerated in a phosphorylation-dependent manner.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Gene Center, University of Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meinhart
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cramer
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000201:enzymology*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D039221:mRNA Cleavage and Polyadenylation Factors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; C491211:NRD1 protein, S cerevisiae; C512637:PCF11 protein, S cerevisiae; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D039221:mRNA Cleavage and Polyadenylation Factors; D012319:RNA Polymerase II