Jeon C, Agarwal K
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 Nov 26;93(24):13677-82. doi: 10.1073/pnas.93.24.13677.
Fidelity of DNA and protein synthesis is regulated by a proofreading mechanism but function of a similar mechanism during RNA synthesis has not been demonstrated. Analysis of transcriptional fidelity and its control has been hampered by the necessity to employ complex DNA templates requiring either a promoter and initiation factors or 3'-extended templates. To circumvent this difficulty, we have created an RNA-DNA dumbbell template that can be recognized as a template-primer and extended by RNA polymerase II. By employing this system, we demonstrate that RNA polymerase II can misincorporate a nucleotide and carry out template-dependent elongation at the mispaired end. The transcripts containing misincorporated residues can be cleaved by the very slow 3'-->5' ribonuclease activity of the RNA polymerase II, but enhancement of this activity by the elongation factor TFIIS generates RNA with a high degree of fidelity. This enhanced preferential cleavage of misincorporated transcripts suggests an important role for TFIIS in maintaining transcriptional fidelity.
DNA和蛋白质合成的保真度由校对机制调控,但RNA合成过程中类似机制的功能尚未得到证实。转录保真度及其控制的分析一直受到阻碍,因为需要使用复杂的DNA模板,这些模板要么需要启动子和起始因子,要么需要3'端延伸的模板。为了克服这一困难,我们创建了一种RNA-DNA哑铃模板,它可以被识别为模板引物,并由RNA聚合酶II进行延伸。通过使用该系统,我们证明RNA聚合酶II可以错误掺入一个核苷酸,并在错配末端进行模板依赖性延伸。含有错误掺入残基的转录本可以被RNA聚合酶II非常缓慢的3'→5'核糖核酸酶活性切割,但延伸因子TFIIS增强这种活性会产生高度保真的RNA。错误掺入转录本的这种增强的优先切割表明TFIIS在维持转录保真度方面具有重要作用。