Summary Long non-coding (lnc)RNAs, once thought to merely represent noise from imprecise transcription initiation, have now emerged as major regulatory entities in all eukaryotes. In contrast to the rapidly expanding identification of individual lncRNAs, mechanistic characterization has lagged behind. Here we provide evidence that the GAL lncRNAs in the budding yeast S. cerevisiae promote transcriptional induction in trans by formation of lncRNA-DNA hybrids or R-loops. The evolutionarily conserved RNA helicase Dbp2 regulates formation of these R-loops as genomic deletion or nuclear depletion results in accumulation of these structures across the GAL cluster gene promoters and coding regions. Enhanced transcriptional induction is manifested by lncRNA-dependent displacement of the Cyc8 co-repressor and subsequent gene looping, suggesting that these lncRNAs promote induction by altering chromatin architecture. Moreover, the GAL lncRNAs confer a competitive fitness advantage to yeast cells as expression of these non-coding molecules correlates with faster adaptation in response to an environmental switch.

The ability of prokaryotic microorganisms to reduce the inorganic metals has opened up an exciting eco-friendly approach towards the development of natural 'nano-factories'. However, a number of issues have to be addressed from the nanotechnological and microbiological point of view before such a biosynthesis approach can compete with the existing physical and chemical methods. This report investigates the synthesis of silver oxide nanoparticles using Lactobacillus mindensis, isolated using fixer solution from an X-ray photographic laboratory. Nanoparticles obtained were characterized by means of UV-vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The UV-vis spectrum shows the absorbance maximum at 430 nm, which is a characteristic of surface plasmon resonance of silver. Further, the presence of stable nanoparticles in the range of 2-20 nm was determined using TEM analysis. Silver nanoparticles in the form of silver oxide were confirmed in the XRD study. In conclusion, Lactobacillus mindensis serves as a promising candidate in the quest to synthesize silver oxide nanoparticles through green chemistry.

Gene loops are formed by the interaction of initiation and termination factors occupying the distal ends of a gene during transcription. RNAPII is believed to affect gene looping indirectly owing to its essential role in transcription. The results presented here, however, demonstrate a direct role of RNAPII in gene looping through the Rpb4 subunit. 3C analysis revealed that gene looping is abolished in the rpb4Δ mutant. In contrast to the other looping-defective mutants, rpb4Δ cells do not exhibit a transcription termination defect. RPB4 overexpression, however, rescued the transcription termination and gene looping defect of sua7-1, a mutant of TFIIB. Furthermore, RPB4 overexpression rescued the ssu72-2 gene looping defect, while SSU72 overexpression restored the formation of gene loops in rpb4Δ cells. Interestingly, the interaction of TFIIB with Ssu72 is compromised in rpb4Δ cells. These results suggest that the TFIIB–Ssu72 interaction, which is critical for gene loop formation, is facilitated by Rpb4. We propose that Rpb4 is promoting the transfer of RNAPII from the terminator to the promoter for reinitiation of transcription through TFIIB–Ssu72 mediated gene looping.

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words)Gene loops are formed by the interaction of initiation and termination factors occupying the distal ends of a gene during transcription. RNAPII is believed to affect gene looping indirectly owing to its essential role in transcription. The results presented here, however, demonstrate a direct role of RNAPII in gene looping through the Rpb4 subunit. 3C analysis revealed that gene looping is abolished in the rpb4∆ mutant. In contrast to the other looping-defective mutants, rpb4∆ cells do not exhibit a transcription termination defect. RPB4 overexpression, however, rescued the transcription termination and gene looping defect of sua7-1, a mutant of TFIIB. Furthermore, RPB4 overexpression rescued the ssu72-2 gene looping defect, while SSU72 overexpression restored the formation of gene loops in rpb4∆ cells. Interestingly, the interaction of TFIIB with Ssu72 is compromised in rpb4∆ cells. These results suggest that the TFIIB-Ssu72 interaction, which is critical for gene loop formation, is facilitated by Rpb4. We propose that Rpb4 is promoting the transfer of RNAPII from the terminator to the promoter for reinitiation of transcription through TFIIB-Ssu72 mediated gene looping.[14]. Besides activators and TFIIB, TFIIH and Mediator complex also play a critical role in gene loop formation by directly interacting with the CF1 and CPF 3'-end processing/termination factors [12,16]. It is generally believed that RNAPII is not directly involved in formation of gene loops, but is a rather passive player in the process. Since gene looping is a transcription-dependent process, it has been presumed that all mutations that affect transcription will also alter gene looping. Accordingly, gene looping was completely abolished in the rpb1-1 mutant [17].The structure of RNAPII is highly conserved among eukaryotes. In all eukaryotes from yeast to humans, RNAPII is composed of 12 subunits. Only Saccharomyces cerevisiae RNAPII exists in a 10-subunit core and a dissociable subcomplex formed by Rpb4 and Rpb7 [18,19].The 12 subunits of RNAPII have been implicated in different functions during the process of transcription. The two largest subunits, Rpb1 and Rpb2, are required for binding to the DNA template. Rpb1 contains a groove for the entry of deoxyribonucleotides. Rpb7 has two RNA binding domains and plays a pivotal role in mRNA decay [20]. Rpb9 has been implicated in start-site selection, but is dispensable for assembly of the 10-subunit enzyme (Hull et al., 1995). While the two largest subunits, Rpb1 and Rpb2, have well-established roles in the initiation of transcription, a few published reports suggest that some of the RNAPII subunits function in the termination of transcription. The CTD of the largest subunit Rpb1 consists of multiple repeats of the heptapeptide sequence (YSPTSPS). The phosphorylation of Ser2 of the CTD is critical for the recruitment of 3'-end processing factors and for termination of transcription [21,22]. In the crystal structure, the Rpb3/Rpb11 heterodimer lies in close proximity of the RNA exit channel [...

This manuscript describes a protocol for detecting transcription termination defect in vivo. The strand-specific TRO protocol using BrUTP described here is a powerful experimental approach for analyzing the transcription termination defect under physiological conditions. Like the traditional TRO assay, it relies on the presence of a transcriptionally active polymerase beyond the 3' end of the gene as an indicator of a transcription termination defect. It overcomes two major problems encountered with the traditional TRO assay. First, it can detect if the polymerase reading through the termination signal is the one that initiated transcription from the promoter-proximal region, or if it is simply representing a pervasively transcribing polymerase that initiated non-specifically from somewhere in the body or the 3' end of the gene. Secondly, it can distinguish if the transcriptionally active polymerase signal beyond the terminator region is truly the readthrough sense mRNA transcribing polymerase or a terminator-initiated non-coding anti-sense RNA signal. Briefly, the protocol involves permeabilizing the exponentially growing yeast cells, allowing the transcripts that initiated in vivo to elongate in the presence of the BrUTP nucleotide, purifying BrUTP-labelled RNA by the affinity approach, reverse transcribing the purified nascent RNA and amplifying the cDNA using strand-specific primers flanking the promoter and the terminator regions of the gene.

Rat1 is a 5′→3′ exoribonuclease in budding yeast. It is a highly conserved protein with homologs being present in fission yeast, flies, worms, mice and humans. Rat1 and its human homolog Xrn2 have been implicated in multiple nuclear processes. Here we report a novel role of Rat1 in mRNA splicing. We observed an increase in the level of unspliced transcripts in mutants of Rat1. Accumulation of unspliced transcripts was not due to the surveillance role of Rat1 in degrading unspliced mRNA, or an indirect effect of Rat1 function in termination of transcription or on the level of splicing factors in the cell, or due to an increased elongation rate in Rat1 mutants. ChIP-Seq analysis revealed Rat1 crosslinking to the introns of a subset of yeast genes. Mass spectrometry and coimmunoprecipitation revealed an interaction of Rat1 with the Clf1, Isy1, Yju2, Prp43 and Sub2 splicing factors. Furthermore, recruitment of splicing factors on the intron was compromised in the Rat1 mutant. Based on these findings we propose that Rat1 has a novel role in splicing of mRNA in budding yeast. Rat1, however, is not a general splicing factor as it crosslinks to only long introns with an average length of 400 nucleotides.

The yeast termination factor Rat1, and its human homolog Xrn2, have been implicated in multiple nuclear processes. Here we report a novel role of Rat1 in mRNA splicing. Rat1 mutants display increased levels of unspliced transcripts. Accumulation of unspliced transcripts was not due to a failure to degrade unspliced mRNA, disruption of termination or an increased elongation rate in Rat1 mutants. ChIP-Seq analysis revealed Rat1 crosslinking to the introns of a subset of yeast genes. Mass spectrometry and coimmunoprecipitation revealed interaction of Rat1 with the Clf1, Isy1, Yju2, Prp43, and Sub2 splicing factors. Furthermore, recruitment of the Prp2 splicing factor on the intron was compromised in the Rat1 mutant. Based on these findings we propose that Rat1 has a novel role in splicing of a subset of mRNA in budding yeast.