Recognition of threonin-phosphorylated CTD of RNA polymerase II

NMR structure shows how the CTD-interacting domain of Rtt103p recognizes threonine-4 phosphorylated CTD of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII).

Phosphorylation patterns of the C‐terminal domain (CTD) of largest subunit of RNApolymerase II (called the CTD code) orchestrate the recruitment of RNA processing and transcription factors. Recent studies showed that not only serines and tyrosines but also threonines of the CTD can be phosphorylated with a number of functional consequences, including the interaction with yeast transcription termination factor, Rtt103p. The solution structure of the Rtt103p CTD‐interacting domain (CID) bound to Thr4 phosphorylated CTD has been obtained by NMR. The structure reveals a direct recognition of the phospho‐Thr4 mark by Rtt103p CID and shows extensive interactions involving residues from three repeats of the CTD heptad. The structural data suggests that the recruitment of a CID‐containing CTD‐binding factor may be coded by more than one letter of the CTD code.

Jasnovidova, O., Krejcikova, M., Kubicek, K. & Stefl, R. Structural insight into recognition of phosphorylated threonine-4 of RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain by Rtt103p. Embo Reports 18, 906-913, doi:10.15252/embr.201643723 (2017).