Fluorescence resonance energy transfer studies on the proximity relationship between the intrinsic metal ion and substrate binding sites of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase

DNA-dependent RNA polymerase from Escherichia coli contains 2 mol of zinc/mol of holoenzyme (alpha 2 beta beta' sigma) with one zinc each in the beta and beta' subunits. A new method to substitute selectively the zinc in the beta subunit was developed by the inactivation of RNA polymerase with 0.25 M NaNO3, 1 M NaCl, 1 mM diaminocyclohexane tetraacetic acid, and 0.1 mM dithiothreitol followed by reconstitution with Co(II), Cd(II), or Cu(II). The hybrid Co-Zn, Cd-Zn, or Cu-Zn RNA polymerase thus obtained retains, respectively, 91, 88, and 50% enzyme activity of the reconstituted Zn-Zn RNA polymerase. Co-Zn RNA polymerase exhibits absorption maxima at 395 and 465 nm, and Cu-Zn RNA polymerase at 637 nm (epsilon = 815 M-1 cm-1). 1-Aminonaphthalene-5-sulfonic acid (AmNS) derivatives of ATP, UTP, and dinucleoside monophosphates (diNMPs), UpA or ApU, were synthesized with AmNS attached to NTP via a gamma-phosphoamidate bond or to diNMPs via a 5'-secondary amine linkage. Since the fluorescence emission maxima of (5'-AmNS)UpA, (gamma-AmNS)ATP, and (gamma-AmNS)UTP at 445, 464, and 464 nm, respectively, when excited at 340 nm, overlap the 465-nm absorption band of Co-Zn RNA polymerase, the spatial relationship between fluorescence substrate analogs and the intrinsic Co(II) in Co-Zn RNA polymerase was studied by fluorescence resonance energy transfer technique. The fluorescence of the initiator, (5'-AmNS)UpA, and elongator, (gamma-AmNS)UTP, of the RNA chain, was quenched 20.3 and 7.1%, by the addition of saturation concentration of Zn-Zn RNA polymerase, and 21.3 and 14.7%, respectively, by the addition of template, poly(dA-dT). The fluorescence of (5'-AmNS)UpA and (gamma-AmNS)UTP was quenched 81.8 and 80.6%, respectively, by the addition of the saturation concentration of Co-Zn RNA polymerase in the absence of template, and 82.7 and 82.9% in the presence of template. On the basis of respective Ro values of 21.3 and 21.9 A for the (5'-AmNS)UpA-Co and (gamma-AmNS)UTP-Co pairs, the distances from Co(II) to the initiation site and to the elongation site were calculated to be 17.4 and 17.5 A, respectively, in the absence and 17.2 and 17.4 A in the presence of template.