Blombach Fabian, Makarova Kira S, Marrero Jeannette, Siebers Bettina, Koonin Eugene V, van der Oost John
Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Biol Direct. 2009 Oct 14;4:39. doi: 10.1186/1745-6150-4-39.
One of the hallmarks of eukaryotic information processing is the co-existence of 3 distinct, multi-subunit RNA polymerase complexes that are dedicated to the transcription of specific classes of coding or non-coding RNAs. Archaea encode only one RNA polymerase that resembles the eukaryotic RNA polymerase II with respect to the subunit composition. Here we identify archaeal orthologs of the eukaryotic RNA polymerase III subunit RPC34. Genome context analysis supports a function of this archaeal protein in the transcription of non-coding RNAs. These findings suggest that functional separation of RNA polymerases for protein-coding genes and non-coding RNAs might predate the origin of the Eukaryotes.
真核生物信息处理的一个标志是存在3种不同的多亚基RNA聚合酶复合物,它们专门负责转录特定类别的编码或非编码RNA。古细菌仅编码一种RNA聚合酶,就亚基组成而言,它类似于真核生物的RNA聚合酶II。在这里,我们鉴定出真核生物RNA聚合酶III亚基RPC34的古细菌直系同源物。基因组背景分析支持这种古细菌蛋白在非编码RNA转录中的功能。这些发现表明,负责蛋白质编码基因和非编码RNA转录的RNA聚合酶的功能分离可能早于真核生物的起源。