title: A gene-specific requirement of RNA polymerase II CTD phosphorylation for sexual differentiation in S. pombe.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The switch from cellular proliferation to differentiation occurs to a large extent through specific programs of gene expression. In fission yeast, the master regulator of sexual differentiation, ste11, is induced by environmental conditions leading to mating and meiosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We show that phosphorylation of serine 2 (S2P) in the C-terminal domain of the largest subunit of the RNA polymerase II (PolII) enzyme by the Lsk1 cyclin-dependent kinase has only a minor impact on global gene expression during vegetative growth but is critical for the induction of ste11 transcription during sexual differentiation. The recruitment of the Lsk1 kinase initiates in the vicinity of the transcription start site of ste11, resulting in a marked increase of S2P on the ste11 unit, including an extended 5' untranslated region (5'UTR). This pattern contrasts with the classical gradient of S2P toward the 3' region. In the absence of S2P, both PolII occupancy at the ste11 locus and ste11 expression are impaired. This results in sterility, which is rescued by expression of the ste11 coding sequence from the adh1 promoter.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thus, the S2P polymerase plays a specific, regulatory role in cell differentiation through the induction of ste11.
authors.affiliation: Academie Universitaire Louvain, Laboratoire de Genetique Moleculaire (GEMO), Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium.
authors.forename: Damien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Coudreuse
authors.forename: Harm
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van Bakel
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dewez
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Soutourina
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Parnell
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vandenhaute
authors.forename: Brad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cairns
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.forename: Damien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hermand
mesh_terms: D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D010766:Phosphorylation; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000378:metabolism*; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D012319:RNA Polymerase II