Home LiteratureArticle Details
PMID: 2112240 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

A conjugation-specific gene (cnjC) from Tetrahymena encodes a protein homologous to yeast RNA polymerase subunits (RPB3, RPC40) and similar to a portion of the prokaryotic RNA polymerase alpha subunit (rpoA).

Nucleic acids research ·Vol. 18 ·No. 10 ·1990-05-25 ·Pages 2953-60

Martindale DW

Abstract

The cnjC gene from the protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila was completely sequenced. The deduced gene product was found to have significant sequence similarity to the yeast and prokaryotic RNA polymerase subunits involved with subunit assembly. Since cnjC is active only during the sexual stage (conjugation) of Tetrahymena's life cycle, these results indicate it may be part of a novel type of transcriptional control. The yeast proteins to which the Tetrahymena cnjC is homologous are the 40 kd protein of RNA polymerases I and III (coded for by gene RPC40) and the third-largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (coded for by gene RPB3). The degree of similarity of the cnjC protein to the two yeast subunits was found to be greater than the similarity of the two yeast subunits to each other. The alpha subunit of the core RNA polymerase from prokaryotes (coded for by gene rpoA) was found to have regions of similarity to the cnjC protein as well as to the subunits encoded by RPC40 and RPB3. Regions of high conservation among the four proteins are noted. The significance of these results is discussed.

MeSH Terms
Amino Acid Sequence Animals Bacillus subtilis/enzymology,genetics Base Sequence Conjugation, Genetic DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases/genetics Escherichia coli/enzymology,genetics Genes Genes, Fungal Molecular Sequence Data RNA Polymerase I/genetics RNA Polymerase II/genetics RNA Polymerase III/genetics Saccharomyces cerevisiae/enzymology,genetics Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid Tetrahymena/genetics
Chemicals
RNA Polymerase II DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases RNA Polymerase I RNA Polymerase III
Authors & Affiliations
1 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Martindale D W
Department of Microbiology, Macdonald College of McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, PQ, Canada.
References (34)
34 references, click to expand
  1. Gene for the alpha subunit of Bacillus subtilis RNA polymerase maps in the ribosomal protein gene cluster.
    J Bacteriol. 1986 Oct;168(1):65-71 PMID: 3093467
  2. RNA and protein synthesis during meiotic prophase in Tetrahymena thermophila.
    J Protozool. 1985 Nov;32(4):644-9 PMID: 2415700
  3. Phosphorylation of RNA polymerase by the murine homologue of the cell-cycle control protein cdc2.
    Nature. 1989 Jun 29;339(6227):679-84 PMID: 2662013
  4. Structure and associated DNA-helicase activity of a general transcription initiation factor that binds to RNA polymerase II.
    Nature. 1989 Oct 5;341(6241):410-4 PMID: 2477704
  5. Structure and function of bacterial sigma factors.
    Annu Rev Biochem. 1988;57:839-72 PMID: 3052291
  6. Cloning of abundant mRNA species present during conjugation of Tetrahymena thermophila: identification of mRNA species present exclusively during meiosis.
    Mol Cell Biol. 1983 Oct;3(10):1857-65 PMID: 6646127
  7. Promoter selectivity of prokaryotic RNA polymerases.
    Trends Genet. 1988 Oct;4(10):282-6 PMID: 3076288
  8. Structure of the eukaryotic transcription apparatus: features of the gene for the largest subunit of Drosophila RNA polymerase II.
    Cell. 1985 Sep;42(2):611-21 PMID: 2992806
  9. Eukaryotic transcriptional regulatory proteins.
    Annu Rev Biochem. 1989;58:799-839 PMID: 2673023
  10. Proteins that bind to RNA polymerase II are required for accurate initiation of transcription at the adenovirus 2 major late promoter.
    EMBO J. 1986 Nov;5(11):2923-30 PMID: 3792304
  11. Yeast RNA polymerase C and its subunits. Specific antibodies as structural and functional probes.
    J Biol Chem. 1985 Dec 5;260(28):15304-10 PMID: 3905793
  12. Cloning and identification of the gene coding for the 140-kd subunit of Drosophila RNA polymerase II.
    EMBO J. 1986 Apr;5(4):741-6 PMID: 16453680
  13. Multiple introns in a conjugation-specific gene from Tetrahymena thermophila.
    Nucleic Acids Res. 1988 Mar 25;16(5):2189-201 PMID: 3357771
  14. Rapid and sensitive protein similarity searches.
    Science. 1985 Mar 22;227(4693):1435-41 PMID: 2983426
  15. Measurements of the effects that coding for a protein has on a DNA sequence and their use for finding genes.
    Nucleic Acids Res. 1984 Jan 11;12(1 Pt 2):551-67 PMID: 6364041
  16. Codon usage in Tetrahymena and other ciliates.
    J Protozool. 1989 Jan-Feb;36(1):29-34 PMID: 2496227
  17. Eukaryotic RNA polymerases.
    CRC Crit Rev Biochem. 1985;18(1):31-90 PMID: 3893883
  18. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463-7 PMID: 271968
  19. Probing eukaryotic RNA polymerases B with monoclonal antibodies.
    FEBS Lett. 1983 Jul 25;158(2):343-8 PMID: 6192015
  20. Unidirectional digestion with exonuclease III creates targeted breakpoints for DNA sequencing.
    Gene. 1984 Jun;28(3):351-9 PMID: 6235151
  21. Cytologic and autoradiographic studies of the micronucleus at meiotic prophase in Tetrahymena pyriformis.
    J Protozool. 1974 Oct;21(4):542-8 PMID: 4214068
  22. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic RNA polymerases have homologous core subunits.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Mar;84(5):1192-6 PMID: 3547406
  23. Tetrahymena conjugation-induced genes: structure and organization in macro- and micronuclei.
    Nucleic Acids Res. 1986 Feb 11;14(3):1341-54 PMID: 3005971
  24. Yeast RNA polymerase II genes: isolation with antibody probes.
    Science. 1983 Nov 18;222(4625):778-82 PMID: 6356359
  25. Unusual features of transcribed and translated regions of the histone H4 gene family of Tetrahymena thermophila.
    Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 Jan 12;15(1):141-60 PMID: 3822803
  26. Extensive homology among the largest subunits of eukaryotic and prokaryotic RNA polymerases.
    Cell. 1985 Sep;42(2):599-610 PMID: 3896517
  27. Immunological studies of yeast nuclear RNA polymerases at the subunit level.
    J Biol Chem. 1980 Oct 25;255(20):9949-54 PMID: 7000767
  28. Isolation of structural genes for yeast RNA polymerases by immunological screening.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Mar;83(6):1554-8 PMID: 2937059
  29. Molecular mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in yeast.
    Annu Rev Biochem. 1989;58:1051-77 PMID: 2673007
  30. A general transcription factor forms a stable complex with RNA polymerase B (II).
    Cell. 1987 Jul 31;50(3):361-8 PMID: 3607874
  31. RPC40, a unique gene for a subunit shared between yeast RNA polymerases A and C.
    Cell. 1987 Feb 27;48(4):627-37 PMID: 3815519
  32. RPA190, the gene coding for the largest subunit of yeast RNA polymerase A.
    J Biol Chem. 1988 Feb 25;263(6):2830-9 PMID: 2830265
  33. RNA polymerase II subunit RPB3 is an essential component of the mRNA transcription apparatus.
    Mol Cell Biol. 1989 Dec;9(12):5387-94 PMID: 2685562
  34. Nucleotide sequence of the rpoA-rplQ DNA of Escherichia coli: a second regulatory binding site for protein S4?
    Nucleic Acids Res. 1984 Jul 25;12(14):5813-21 PMID: 6379605
Article Info
Journal
Nucleic acids research
Abbr.
Nucleic Acids Res
ISSN
0305-1048
DOI
10.1093/nar/18.10.2953
Published
1990-05-25
Pages
2953-60
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
0411011
PMCID
PMC330824
Subset
IM
Databases
GENBANK
M29447
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1093/nar/18.10.2953 PMC Full Text View journal details
Analysis Services
Analysis Services

Contact

No. 2 Wenbo Road, Zhangqiu District, Jinan, Shandong

Qilu Normal University · Genelibs Bioinformatics Lab

750 Shunhua Rd, Jinan

2F, Bldg F, University Science Park

Tel: 0531-88819269

WeChat Official Account

Follow our WeChat subscription account for real-time updates and the latest in medical and biological research.


Business Email

E-mail: product@genelibs.com

Copyright © 2026.Genelibs Jinan Honghui Biotechnology Co., Ltd. 鲁ICP备20007159号-2