Human RNA polymerase II subunit hsRPB7 functions in yeast and influences stress survival and cell morphology.

Using a screen to identify human genes that promote pseudohyphal conversion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we obtained a cDNA encoding hsRPB7, a human homologue of the seventh largest subunit of yeast RNA polymerase II (RPB7). Overexpression of yeast RPB7 in a comparable strain background caused more pronounced cell elongation than overexpression of hsRPB7. hsRPB7 sequence and function are strongly conserved with its yeast counterpart because its expression can rescue deletion of the essential RPB7 gene at moderate temperatures. Further, immuno-precipitation of RNA polymerase II from yeast cells containing hsRPB7 revealed that the hsRPB7 assembles the complete set of 11 other yeast subunits. However, at temperature extremes and during maintenance at stationary phase, hsRPB7-containing yeast cells lose viability rapidly, stress-sensitive phenotypes reminiscent of those associated with deletion of the RPB4 subunit with which RPB7 normally complexes. Two-hybrid analysis revealed that although hsRPB7 and RPB4 interact, the association is of lower affinity than the RPB4-RPB7 interaction, providing a probable mechanism for the failure of hsRPB7 to fully function in yeast cells at high and low temperatures. Finally, surprisingly, hsRPB7 RNA in human cells is expressed in a tissue-specific pattern that differs from that of the RNA polymerase II largest subunit, implying a potential regulatory role for hsRPB7. Taken together, these results suggest that some RPB7 functions may be analogous to those possessed by the stress-specific prokaryotic sigma factor rpoS.     

Stationary phase in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Growth and proliferation of microorganisms such as the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are controlled in part by the availability of nutrients. When proliferating yeast cells exhaust available nutrients, they enter a stationary phase characterized by cell cycle arrest and specific physiological, biochemical, and morphological changes. These changes include thickening of the cell wall, accumulation of reserve carbohydrates, and acquisition of thermotolerance. Recent characterization of mutant cells that are conditionally defective only for the resumption of proliferation from stationary phase provides evidence that stationary phase is a unique developmental state. Strains with mutations affecting entry into and survival during stationary phase have also been isolated, and the mutations have been shown to affect at least seven different cellular processes: (i) signal transduction, (ii) protein synthesis, (iii) protein N-terminal acetylation, (iv) protein turnover, (v) protein secretion, (vi) membrane biosynthesis, and (vii) cell polarity. The exact nature of the relationship between these processes and survival during stationary phase remains to be elucidated. We propose that cell cycle arrest coordinated with the ability to remain viable in the absence of additional nutrients provides a good operational definition of starvation-induced stationary phase.     

Rpb4, a Subunit of RNA Polymerase II, Enables the Enzyme To Transcribe at Temperature Extremes In Vitro

Rpb4 is a subunit of Saccharomyces cerevisiae RNA polymerase II (Pol II). It associates with the polymerase preferentially in stationary phase and is essential for some stress responses. Using the promoter-independent initiation and chain elongation assay, we monitored Pol II enzymatic activity in cell extracts. We show here that Rpb4 is required for the polymerase activity at temperature extremes (10 and 35°C). In contrast, at moderate temperature (23°C) Pol II activity is independent of Rpb4. These results are consistent with the role previously attributed to Rpb4 as a subunit whose association with Pol II helps Pol II to transcribe during extreme temperatures. The enzymatic inactivation of Pol II lacking Rpb4 at the nonoptimal temperature was prevented by the addition of recombinant Rpb4 produced in Escherichia coli prior to the in vitro reaction assay. This finding suggests that modification of Rpb4 is not required for its functional association with the other Pol II subunits. Sucrose gradient and immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that Rpb4 is present in the cell in excess over the Pol II complex during all growth phases. Nevertheless, the rescue of Pol II activity at the nonoptimal temperature by Rpb4 is possible only when cell extracts are obtained from postlogarithmic cells, not from logarithmically growing cells. This result suggests that Pol II molecules should be modified in order to recruit Rpb4; the portion of the modified Pol II molecules is small during logarithmic phase and becomes predominant in stationary phase.     

THE EFFECT OF Mn(II) ON THE AUTOINDUCING GROWTH INHIBITION FACTOR IN Deinococcus radiodurans

Decreases in cell division at the stationary phase in bacterial cultures are often due to the depletion of nutrients and/or accumulation of toxic waste products. Yet, during the stationary phase, the highly radiation-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans undergoes new rounds of cell division when Mn(II) is added to the medium in a phenomenon known as manganese-induced cell division (MnCD). When cells were cultured in medium without Mn(II)-enrichment, a heat-resistant, proteinase K-resistant factor (or factors) with a molecular mass less than 10 kD accumulated in the spent medium. Inclusion of the concentrated spent medium in fresh medium could inhibit the growth of D. radiodurans significantly, and the degree of inhibition was dose dependent. However, the relative stimulatory effect of MnCD was also dose dependent—the higher the inhibition, the stronger was the MnCD response. Previous studies have shown that nutrients were not limiting and deinococcal cells would continue metabolizing its nutrients at stationary phase. Cells became more sensitive to radiation when nutrients in the medium eventually became depleted. We speculated that D. radiodurans might produce this factor in the medium to control its population density. The reduction in cell population would conserve the nutrients that in turn might enhance the survival of the species.