i:*tJ*f
J*-.iF
When a 3' end is
generated
by termina-
tion, RNA
potymerase
and RNA are released
at a discrete
(terminator)
sequence in DNA.
F;*liftf.
iri"3t When a 3'end is
generated
by cteavage, RNA
polymerase
continues transcription while
an endonucte-
ase cteaves
at a defined sequence in
the RNA.
CHAPTER
26
RNA SpLicing
and Processing
as shown in FI*[Jftil
e*.3*.
Other RNA
poly-
merases
do
not show discrete termination,
but
continue
past
the site corresponding to the 3'
end,
which
is
generated
by cleavage of the RNA
by an
endonuclease, as shown in FfSLiRE 3S.33.
Information
about
the termination reac-
tion for eukaryotic RNA
polymerases
is less
detailed than our
knowledge
of
initiation.
RNA
polymerases
I and III have discrete termination
events
(like
bacterial
RNA
polymerase),
but it
is not clear whether RNA
polymerase
II usually
terminates in this way.
For RNA
polymerase
I, the
sole
product
of
transcription is a large
precursor
that contains
the sequences of
the major rRNA.
The
precur-
sor is subjected to extensive
processing.
Termi-
nation occurs at a discrete site
>1000
bp
downstream of the
mature f'end,
which is
gen-
erated by cleavage. Termination involves recog-
nition of an 18-base terminator
seouence bv an
ancillary factor.
With RNA
polymerase
III, transcription
in
vitro
generates
molecules with
the same 5'and
3' ends as those synthesized in vivo. The termi-
nation reaction resembles intrinsic
termination
by bacterial RNA
polymerase (see
Section I I.2I,
There Are Two
\pes
of Terminators
in E. coli).
Termination
usually occurs at the second U
within a
run
of
four
U bases, but there is het-
erogeneity, with some
molecules
ending in three
or even four U bases. The same heterogeneity
is
seen
in molecules
synthesized in vivo, so it
seems to be a bona
fide
feature
of the termina-
tion
reaction.
Just
like
the
prokaryotic
terminators,
the
U
run is
embedded
in
a G-C-rich region.
Although sequences of dyad symmetry
are
pres-
ent, they are not needed for
termination,
because mutations that abolish the
symmetry
do not
prevent
the normal completion
of RNA
synthesis. Nor are any sequences
beyond the
U run necessary because all distal
sequences can
be replaced without
any effect on termination.
The U run itself is not
sufficient for termi-
nation,
because regions of four
successive
U residues exist within transcription
units read
by RNA
polymerase
III.
(There
are no internal
U5 runs, though, which fits
with the
greater
efficiency of termination
when the terminator
is
a U5
rather
than a Ua seeuence.)
The critical
feature in termination
must therefore
be the
recognition
of a Ua sequence in a
context that
is rich in
G-C base
pairs.
How does
the termination reaction
occur?
It cannot rely
on
the
weakness of the rU-dA
RNA-DNA hybrid
region that lies
at the end of
@
The
3'
Ends
of
po[I
and
pol.III
Transcri
pts
Are
Generated by Termination
.
RNA
polymerase
I terminates transcription at an
18-base terminator sequence.
r
RNA
potymerase
III terminates transcription in
poty(U)a
sequence embedded in a G-C-rich
Seouence.
J'ends of RNAs
can be
generated
in
two ways.
Some RNA
polymerases
terminate transcrip-
tion at a defined
(terminator)
sequence
in DNA,
Promoter Terminator
694