The mechanism of substrate loading in multisubunit RNA polymerase is crucial for understanding the general principles of transcription yet remains hotly debated. Here we report the 3.0-A resolution structures of the Thermus thermophilus elongation complex (EC) with a non-hydrolysable substrate analogue, adenosine-5'-[(alpha,beta)-methyleno]-triphosphate (AMPcPP), and with AMPcPP plus the inhibitor streptolydigin. In the EC/AMPcPP structure, the substrate binds to the active ('insertion') site closed through refolding of the trigger loop (TL) into two alpha-helices. In contrast, the EC/AMPcPP/streptolydigin structure reveals an inactive ('preinsertion') substrate configuration stabilized by streptolydigin-induced displacement of the TL. Our structural and biochemical data suggest that refolding of the TL is vital for catalysis and have three main implications. First, despite differences in the details, the two-step preinsertion/insertion mechanism of substrate loading may be universal for all RNA polymerases. Second, freezing of the preinsertion state is an attractive target for the design of novel antibiotics. Last, the TL emerges as a prominent target whose refolding can be modulated by regulatory factors.

Transcriptional pausing by RNA polymerase is an underlying event in the regulation of transcript elongation, yet the physical changes in the transcribing complex that create the initially paused conformation remain poorly understood. We report that this nonbacktracked elemental pause results from an active-site rearrangement whose signature includes a trigger-loop conformation positioned near the RNA 3' nucleotide and a conformation of betaDloopII that allows fraying of the RNA 3' nucleotide away from the DNA template. During nucleotide addition, trigger-loop movements or folding appears to assist NTP-stimulated translocation and to be crucial for catalysis. At a pause, the trigger loop directly contributes to the paused conformation, apparently by restriction of its movement or folding, whereas a previously postulated unfolding of the bridge helix does not. This trigger-loop-centric model can explain many properties of transcriptional pausing.

In Gram-positive bacteria, T-box riboswitches regulate expression of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) and other proteins in response to fluctuating tRNA aminoacylation levels under various nutritional states1. T-boxes reside in the 5’-untranslated regions (UTRs) of the mRNAs they regulate, and comprise two conserved domains. Stem I harbors the specifier trinucleotide that base-pairs with the anticodon of cognate tRNA. 3’ to Stem I is the antiterminator domain, which base-pairs with the tRNA acceptor end and evaluates its aminoacylation state2. Despite high phylogenetic conservation and widespread occurrence in pathogens, the structural basis of tRNA recognition3,4 by this riboswitch remains ill-defined. Here, we demonstrate that the ~100-nucleotide T-box Stem I is necessary and sufficient for specific, high-affinity (Kd ~150 nM) tRNA binding, and report its structure in complex with cognate tRNA at 3.2 Å resolution. Stem I recognizes the overall architecture of tRNA in addition to its anticodon, something accomplished by large ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) like the ribosome or proteins such as ARSs5, but unprecedented for a compact mRNA domain. The C-shaped Stem I cradles the L-shaped tRNA forming an extended (1604 Å2) intermolecular interface. In addition to the specifier-anticodon interaction, two interdigitated T-loops near the apex of Stem I stack on the tRNA elbow in a manner analogous to those of the J11/12-J12/11 motif6 of RNase P and the L1 stalk7 of the ribosomal E-site. Since these RNPs and T-boxes are unrelated, this strategy to recognize an universal tRNA feature likely evolved convergently. Mutually induced fit of Stem I and the tRNA exploiting the intrinsic flexibility of tRNA and its conserved post-transcriptional modifications results in high shape complementarity, which in addition to providing specificity and affinity, globally organizes the T-box to orchestrate tRNA-dependent transcription regulation.

The trigger loop (TL) is a polymorphous component of RNA polymerase (RNAP) that makes direct substrate contacts and promotes nucleotide addition when folded into an α-helical hairpin (trigger helices; TH). However, the roles of the TL/TH in transcript cleavage, catalysis, substrate selectivity, and pausing remain ill-defined. Based on in vitro assays of Escherichia coli RNAP bearing specific TL/TH alterations, we report that neither intrinsic nor regulator-assisted transcript cleavage of backtracked RNA requires formation of the TH. We find that the principal contribution of TH formation to rapid nucleotidyl transfer is steric alignment of the reactants, rather than acid-base catalysis, and that the TL/TH cannot be the sole contributor to substrate selectivity. The similar effects of TL/TH substitutions on pausing and nucleotide addition provide additional support for the view that TH formation is rate-limiting for escape from nonbacktracked pauses.