title: Gcn5 facilitates Pol II progression, rather than recruitment to nucleosome-depleted stress promoters, in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
abstract: In the fission yeast, the MAP kinase Sty1 and the transcription factor Atf1 regulate up to 400 genes in response to environmental signals, and both proteins have been shown to bind to their promoters in a stress-dependent manner. In a genetic search, we have isolated the histone H3 acetyltransferase Gcn5, a component of the SAGA complex, as being essential for oxidative stress survival and activation of those genes. Upon stress, Gcn5 is recruited to promoters and coding sequences of stress genes in a Sty1- and Atf1-dependent manner, causing both an enhanced acetylation of histone H3 and nucleosome eviction. Unexpectedly, recruitment of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is not impaired in Δgcn5 cells. We show here that stress genes display a 400-bp long nucleosome depleted region upstream of the transcription start site even prior to activation. Stress treatment does not alter promoter nucleosome architecture, but induces eviction of the downstream nucleosomes at stress genes, which is not observed in Δgcn5 cells. We conclude that, while Pol II is recruited to nucleosome-free stress promoters in a transcription factor dependent manner, Gcn5 mediates eviction of nucleosomes positioned downstream of promoters, allowing efficient Pol II progression along the genes.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Oxidative Stress and Cell Cycle Group, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, C/ Dr. Aiguader 88, E-08003 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sansó
authors.forename: Itzel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vargas-Pérez
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quintales
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Antequera
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ayté
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation; D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051697:Activating Transcription Factor 1 / Q000235:genetics; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000235:genetics; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000378:metabolism*; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000235:genetics*; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D000099224:p300-CBP-Associated Factor
chemical_list: D000123:Acetyltransferases; D051697:Activating Transcription Factor 1; D006657:Histones; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D009707:Nucleosomes; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D012319:RNA Polymerase II; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; C106740:atf1 protein, S pombe; C501322:Gcn5 protein, S pombe; D000099224:p300-CBP-Associated Factor; C095409:sty1 protein, S pombe