RPC53 has previously been shown to encode an essential subunit required for tRNA gene transcription by RNA polymerase C in vivo (Mann, C., Micouin, J.-Y., Chiannilkulchai, N., Treich, I., Buhler, J.-M., and Sentenac, A. (1992) Mol. Cell. Biol. 12, in press). In this paper, we have determined that an unusual rho+ lethality associated with the rpc53::HIS3-1 disruption mutation is due to the inadvertent formation of a Pet56-C53 fusion protein. This fusion protein is missorted to mitochondria, thereby reducing the quantity of the C53 subunit available for RNA polymerase C assembly. We show that the carboxyl-terminal region of C53 contains the essential functional domain of the subunit and that a mutant RNA polymerase containing only this domain is thermolabile for its function in vivo and in vitro. The thermolability of the carboxyl-terminal C53 domain is suppressed by five different genes on multicopy plasmids, including RPC160, encoding the largest subunit of RNA polymerase C and SSD1/SRK1, which has been implicated in the activity of protein phosphatases.

• PMID: 1429657
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Reference Type

Comparative Study | Journal Article | Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Authors

Chiannilkulchai N, Moenne A, Sentenac A, Mann C

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