Highly selective labeling of the E. coli RNA-polymerase promoter complex with reactive derivatives of oligonucleotide primers of various specificity

A technique of highly selective affinity labelling, which includes covalent modification of the enzyme-T7A2 promoter complex with reactive oligonucleotide derivatives and subsequent elongation of the attached oligonucleotide residue with a radioactive substrate was used to study the product-binding site of E. coli RNA polymerase. Different oligonucleotides complementary to the T7A2 promoter (with lengths ranging from 2 to 8 residues) containing 5'-terminal phosphorylating, alkylating or aldehyde groups were used for the labelling. The procedure resulted in labelling DNA and beta-, beta'- or sigma-subunits of the enzyme, which are therefore believed to contact with growing RNA in the course of initiation. Consideration of the labelling patterns as a functions of the oligonucleotide's length as well as of the structure and chemical specificity of the reactive groups led to a tentative topographic scheme of the RNA polymerase product-binding region.     

Affinity modification of E. coli RNA-polymerase in a complex with the promoter by phosphorylating derivatives of primer oligonucleotides

Oligonucleotides 2 to 7 nucleotide residues long, complementary to the codogenic strand of T7 promoter A2, have been synthesized; all of them contained a ribo-unit at the 3'-end. They were converted into 5'-(N-methyl)phosphoimidazolides, and the affinity reagents obtained were allowed to bind covalently to RNA polymerase in the presence of a promoter. Some of the nucleotide residues covalently attached occupied proper positions relative to the active centre of the phosphodiester bond synthesis and on addition of [alpha-32P]UTP were elongated, so that highly selective affinity labelling occurred. With oligonucleotides of various lengths, different distribution of the label between beta, beta' and sigma subunits of RNA polymerase took place. Most efficient was labelling of beta-subunit by the residue--pCpGpCpU, and of sigma-subunit by the residue--pApApApTp-CpGpCpU (p--radioactive phosphorus atom). In both cases, the amino acid residues labelled were histidines.     

Highly selective affinity labeling of DNA-dependent RNA-polymerase of bacteriophage T7

T7 phage RNA polymerase was affinity labelled in the presence of its promoter by treatment with an ATP gamma-derivative (a phosphoamide obtained from 4-(N-chloroethyl, N-methyl)aminobenzylamine, or one of esters obtained from 2-methoxy-4-formylphenol, 4-formylphenol, and 2[N-(4-formylphenyl), N-methyl]-aminoethanol) followed by addition of [alpha-32P]GTP. The most efficient labelling took place with the alkylating phosphoamide reagent.     

Highly selective affinity labeling of DNA-dependent RNA-polymerase II from human placenta

RNA polymerase II from human placenta was affinity labelled in crude preparation using two-step technique, which includes treatment of the enzyme with an aldehyde-containing reactive analogue of ATP, ADP or AMP in the presence of poly[d(A-T)] followed (after borohydride reduction) by the elongation of the attached label with [alpha-32P]UTP. A polypeptide of the molecular mass ca. 140 kDa proved to be the labelling target. No labelling was observed in the absence of poly[d(A-T)] or the reagent or in the presence of alpha-amanitin. All the results suggest the attachment of the affinity reagents to the second-largest subunit of the human RNA polymerase II, which therefore takes part in the initiation substrate's binding.     

Highly selective affinity labeling of the primer-binding site of E. coli DNA polymerase I

Membrane-associated phosphoinositidase C activity has been identified in Dictyostelium discoideum using phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate as exogenous substrate. Maximal activity was observed with 0.4 mM phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate at pH 7.0. The enzyme was stimulated

by micromolar concentrations of free calcium with maximal activity at 100 μM.     

Studies on the functional topography of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. Highly selective affinity labelling by analogues of initiating substrates

RNA polymerase was treated in the presence of promoter-containing templates with 16 affinity reagents, derivatives on NMPs, NDPs and NTPs with reactive substituents at the terminal phosphate. This treatment was followed by addition of a pyrimidine [alpha-32P]NTP. Due to 'catalytic competence' of some of the residues of the affinity reagents bound covalently near the active center at the first stage, active-center-catalyzed synthesis of a phosphodiester bond occurred, and radioactive residues with the general formula -pNpN (where p = radioactive phosphate) appeared covalently attached to the enzyme. Such affinity labelling was super-selective because affinity reagent residues bound outside the active center were not elongated and thus remained non-radioactive. Labelling took place only when the combination of the reagent and [alpha-32P]NTP corresponded to the sequence of nucleotides of the promoter. With reagents having short 'arms', only the beta subunit was labelled; the targets were His and/or Lys residues. With reagents having longer 'arms', the sigma subunit was also labelled.     

Localization of a histidine residue in the binding site for the initiating substrate of E. coli RNA-polymerase

E. coli RNA polymerase was selectively labelled in the presence of promoters at a histidine residue of the beta-subunit by treatment with GDP beta-imidazolide and then with [alpha-32P]UTP (or [alpha-33P]UTP). Partial cyanogen bromide cleavage of the labelled polypeptide afforded a series of "single-hit" labelled peptides, the electrophoretic pattern of which suggested that the labelling site was His1237. This conclusion was confirmed by a similar pattern obtained with products of the cyanogen bromide cleavage of a radioactive peptide obtained by the limited trypsinolysis (C-terminal peptide consisting of 423 amino acid residues). Interpretation of our earlier results in favour of His1116 as the labelling point (Dokl. Acad. nauk SSSR, 1985, v. 281, p. 723) was incorrect due to the electrophoretic "compression" of three labelled peptide bands.     

Localization of lysine residues in the site of initiating substrate binding of E. coli RNA-polymerase

Superselective affinity labelling of E. coli RNA polymerase in a complex with the promoter-containing fragment of T7 DNA by treatment with orto-formylphenyl ester of GMP followed by addition of [alpha-33P]UTP resulted in covalent binding of the residue--pGpU (p-radioactive phosphate) with one of lysine residues of the beta-subunit, Lys1048, Lys1051, Lys1057, Lys1065. The amino acid sequence of this region of the beta-subunit of E. coli RNA polymerase has a high extent of homology with that deduced for a region of tobacco chloroplast RNA polymerase on the basis of the nucleotide sequence of the chloroplast rpoB-like gene.     

Highly selective affinity labeling of DNA-polymerase from Thermus thermophilus B35 by a binary system of photoreactive agents

The thermostable DNA-polymerase from Thermus thermophilus B35 (Tte-polymerase) was affinity labeled by a binary system of photoreagents comprising base-substituted TTP analogs. The 5;-[32P]-labeled primer was elongated by Tte-polymerase in the presence of a TTP analog containing the photoreactive 2,3,5, 6-tetrafluoro-4-azidobenzoyl group (FAB-4-dUTP). Then the reaction mixture was UV-irradiated (365-450 nm) in the presence or the absence of a photosensitizer (TTP analog containing a pyrene moiety, Pyr-dUTP). The initial rate of the Pyr-dUTP-sensitized photomodification was almost 10-fold higher than the rate of direct photomodification (in the absence of Pyr-dUTP); in the case of the sensitized modification, the product of covalent cross-linking of the photoreactive primer with Tte-polymerase was apparently homogenous according to the data of electrophoresis. The enzyme was protected from the photosensitized modification by dNTP. To confirm the selectivity of the photosensitized modification of Tte-polymerase, another DNA-binding protein (human replication factor A, RPA) was added to the reaction mixture. In the presence of the photosensitizer (Pyr-dUTP), RPA was not labeled and only Tte-polymerase was modified, whereas in the case of direct modification, Tte-polymerase and the p32 and p70 subunits of RPA were labeled. The suggested method enables highly selective affinity modification of DNA-polymerases.     

Specific modification of DNA at E. coli RNA-polymerase binding sites

Specific modification of promoter regions of DNA has been studied. Plasmid pK56B1 DNA has been used as a model to test RNA-polymerase binding with DNA under various conditions. RNA-polymerase is shown to form specific complexes with DNA which are stable in solutions with a moderate ionic strength (0.1-0.2 M NaCl), under pH 5-8 in the presence of 0.5 M O-methylhydroxylamine of O-delta-aminooxybutylhydroxylamine. Escherichia coli JM103 cells have been transfected with DNAs treated with 0.5 M O-methylhydroxylamine at 37 degrees C, pH 5.2. The inactivation effects of the mutagen on single-stranded DNA of bacteriophage M13 m p1, double-stranded form of this bacteriophage (replicative form-RF) and on the complex of RNA-polymerase with RF DNA have been compared. The obtained data confirmed the specificity of reagent action with DNA sites binding with the enzyme. Selectivity of promoters modification has been confirmed also by the analysis of M13 m p1 DNA mutations induced in lacZ' gene by delta-aminooxybutylhydroxylamine effect on the DNA complex with DNA-polymerase.     

Localization of binding sites of E. coli DNA-dependent RNA-polymerase with photosensitive template analogs

The photoinduced covalent binding of E. coli RNA polymerase with decathymidylic templates containing 5-bromouracil residue has been carried out. Peptides from beta and beta' subunits of the core-enzyme, situated in the DNA-template binding site of the RNA polymerase active center have been localized.