Structural insights into distinct mechanisms of RNA polymerase II and III recruitment to snRNA promoters

Abstract RNA polymerase III (Pol III) transcribes short, essential RNAs, including the U6 small nuclear RNA (snRNA). At U6 snRNA genes, Pol III is recruited by the snRNA Activating Protein Complex (SNAPc) and a Brf2-containing TFIIIB complex, forming a pre-initiation complex (PIC). Uniquely, SNAPc a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Syed Zawar Shah, Thomas N. Perry, Andrea Graziadei, Valentina Cecatiello, Thangavelu Kaliyappan, Agata D. Misiaszek, Christoph W. Müller, Ewan P. Ramsay, Alessandro Vannini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55553-8
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850282242854617088
author Syed Zawar Shah
Thomas N. Perry
Andrea Graziadei
Valentina Cecatiello
Thangavelu Kaliyappan
Agata D. Misiaszek
Christoph W. Müller
Ewan P. Ramsay
Alessandro Vannini
author_facet Syed Zawar Shah
Thomas N. Perry
Andrea Graziadei
Valentina Cecatiello
Thangavelu Kaliyappan
Agata D. Misiaszek
Christoph W. Müller
Ewan P. Ramsay
Alessandro Vannini
author_sort Syed Zawar Shah
collection DOAJ
description Abstract RNA polymerase III (Pol III) transcribes short, essential RNAs, including the U6 small nuclear RNA (snRNA). At U6 snRNA genes, Pol III is recruited by the snRNA Activating Protein Complex (SNAPc) and a Brf2-containing TFIIIB complex, forming a pre-initiation complex (PIC). Uniquely, SNAPc also recruits Pol II at the remaining splicesosomal snRNA genes (U1, 2, 4 and 5). The mechanism of SNAPc cross-polymerase engagement and the role of the SNAPC2 and SNAPC5 subunits remain poorly defined. Here, we present cryo-EM structures of the full-length SNAPc-containing Pol III PIC assembled on the U6 snRNA promoter in the open and melting states at 3.2–4.2 Å resolution. The structural comparison revealed differences with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pol III PIC and the basis of selective SNAPc engagement within Pol III and Pol II PICs. Additionally, crosslinking mass spectrometry localizes SNAPC2 and SNAPC5 near the promoter DNA, expanding upon existing descriptions of snRNA Pol III PIC structure.
format Article
id doaj-art-717ad1001a7e44ffb08bf6f650a28837
institution OA Journals
issn 2041-1723
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Nature Communications
spelling doaj-art-717ad1001a7e44ffb08bf6f650a288372025-08-20T01:48:02ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111910.1038/s41467-024-55553-8Structural insights into distinct mechanisms of RNA polymerase II and III recruitment to snRNA promotersSyed Zawar Shah0Thomas N. Perry1Andrea Graziadei2Valentina Cecatiello3Thangavelu Kaliyappan4Agata D. Misiaszek5Christoph W. Müller6Ewan P. Ramsay7Alessandro Vannini8Human TechnopoleHuman TechnopoleHuman TechnopoleHuman TechnopoleInstitute of Cancer ResearchStructural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)Human TechnopoleHuman TechnopoleAbstract RNA polymerase III (Pol III) transcribes short, essential RNAs, including the U6 small nuclear RNA (snRNA). At U6 snRNA genes, Pol III is recruited by the snRNA Activating Protein Complex (SNAPc) and a Brf2-containing TFIIIB complex, forming a pre-initiation complex (PIC). Uniquely, SNAPc also recruits Pol II at the remaining splicesosomal snRNA genes (U1, 2, 4 and 5). The mechanism of SNAPc cross-polymerase engagement and the role of the SNAPC2 and SNAPC5 subunits remain poorly defined. Here, we present cryo-EM structures of the full-length SNAPc-containing Pol III PIC assembled on the U6 snRNA promoter in the open and melting states at 3.2–4.2 Å resolution. The structural comparison revealed differences with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pol III PIC and the basis of selective SNAPc engagement within Pol III and Pol II PICs. Additionally, crosslinking mass spectrometry localizes SNAPC2 and SNAPC5 near the promoter DNA, expanding upon existing descriptions of snRNA Pol III PIC structure.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55553-8
spellingShingle Syed Zawar Shah
Thomas N. Perry
Andrea Graziadei
Valentina Cecatiello
Thangavelu Kaliyappan
Agata D. Misiaszek
Christoph W. Müller
Ewan P. Ramsay
Alessandro Vannini
Structural insights into distinct mechanisms of RNA polymerase II and III recruitment to snRNA promoters
Nature Communications
title Structural insights into distinct mechanisms of RNA polymerase II and III recruitment to snRNA promoters
title_full Structural insights into distinct mechanisms of RNA polymerase II and III recruitment to snRNA promoters
title_fullStr Structural insights into distinct mechanisms of RNA polymerase II and III recruitment to snRNA promoters
title_full_unstemmed Structural insights into distinct mechanisms of RNA polymerase II and III recruitment to snRNA promoters
title_short Structural insights into distinct mechanisms of RNA polymerase II and III recruitment to snRNA promoters
title_sort structural insights into distinct mechanisms of rna polymerase ii and iii recruitment to snrna promoters
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55553-8
work_keys_str_mv AT syedzawarshah structuralinsightsintodistinctmechanismsofrnapolymeraseiiandiiirecruitmenttosnrnapromoters
AT thomasnperry structuralinsightsintodistinctmechanismsofrnapolymeraseiiandiiirecruitmenttosnrnapromoters
AT andreagraziadei structuralinsightsintodistinctmechanismsofrnapolymeraseiiandiiirecruitmenttosnrnapromoters
AT valentinacecatiello structuralinsightsintodistinctmechanismsofrnapolymeraseiiandiiirecruitmenttosnrnapromoters
AT thangavelukaliyappan structuralinsightsintodistinctmechanismsofrnapolymeraseiiandiiirecruitmenttosnrnapromoters
AT agatadmisiaszek structuralinsightsintodistinctmechanismsofrnapolymeraseiiandiiirecruitmenttosnrnapromoters
AT christophwmuller structuralinsightsintodistinctmechanismsofrnapolymeraseiiandiiirecruitmenttosnrnapromoters
AT ewanpramsay structuralinsightsintodistinctmechanismsofrnapolymeraseiiandiiirecruitmenttosnrnapromoters
AT alessandrovannini structuralinsightsintodistinctmechanismsofrnapolymeraseiiandiiirecruitmenttosnrnapromoters