RGD Reference Report - RNA polymerase III-specific general transcription factor IIIC contains a heterodimer resembling TFIIF Rap30/Rap74. - Rat Genome Database

Send us a Message



Submit Data |  Help |  Video Tutorials |  News |  Publications |  Download |  REST API |  Citing RGD |  Contact   

RNA polymerase III-specific general transcription factor IIIC contains a heterodimer resembling TFIIF Rap30/Rap74.

Authors: Taylor, NM  Baudin, F  Von Scheven, G  Muller, CW 
Citation: Taylor NM, etal., Nucleic Acids Res. 2013 Oct;41(19):9183-96. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkt664. Epub 2013 Aug 5.
RGD ID: 9685314
Pubmed: PMID:23921640   (View Abstract at PubMed)
PMCID: PMC3799434   (View Article at PubMed Central)
DOI: DOI:10.1093/nar/gkt664   (Journal Full-text)

Transcription of tRNA-encoding genes by RNA polymerase (Pol) III requires the six-subunit general transcription factor IIIC that uses subcomplexes tauA and tauB to recognize two gene-internal promoter elements named A- and B-box. The Schizosaccharomyces pombe tauA subcomplex comprises subunits Sfc1, Sfc4 and Sfc7. The crystal structure of the Sfc1/Sfc7 heterodimer reveals similar domains and overall domain architecture to the Pol II-specific general transcription factor TFIIF Rap30/Rap74. The N-terminal Sfc1/Sfc7 dimerization module consists of a triple beta-barrel similar to the N-terminal TFIIF Rap30/Rap74 dimerization module, whereas the C-terminal Sfc1 DNA-binding domain contains a winged-helix domain most similar to the TFIIF Rap30 C-terminal winged-helix domain. Sfc1 DNA-binding domain recognizes single and double-stranded DNA by an unknown mechanism. Several features observed for A-box recognition by tauA resemble the recognition of promoters by bacterial RNA polymerase, where sigma factor unfolds double-stranded DNA and stabilizes the non-coding DNA strand in an open conformation. Such a function has also been proposed for TFIIF, suggesting that the observed structural similarity between Sfc1/Sfc7 and TFIIF Rap30/Rap74 might also reflect similar functions.


Additional Information