PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Lucas Farnung
AU  - Seychelle M. Vos
AU  - Patrick Cramer
TI  - Structure of transcribing RNA polymerase II-nucleosome complex
AID  - 10.1101/437574
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 437574
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/10/07/437574.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/10/07/437574.full
AB  - Transcription of eukaryotic protein-coding genes requires passage of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) through chromatin. Pol II passage is impaired by nucleosomes and requires elongation factors that help Pol II to efficiently overcome the nucleosomal barrier1–4. How the Pol II machinery transcribes through a nucleosome remains unclear because structural studies have been limited to Pol II elongation complexes formed on DNA templates lacking nucleosomes5. Here we report the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of transcribing Pol II from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae engaged with a downstream nucleosome core particle (NCP) at an overall resolution of 4.4 Å. Pol II and the NCP adopt a defined orientation that could not be predicted from modelling. Pol II contacts DNA of the incoming NCP on both sides of the nucleosomal dyad with its domains ‘clamp head’ and ‘lobe’. Comparison of the Pol II-NCP structure to known structures of Pol II complexes reveals that the elongation factors TFIIS, DSIF, NELF, PAF1 complex, and SPT6 can all be accommodated in the presence of the oriented nucleosome. Further structural comparisons show that the chromatin remodelling enzyme Chd1, which is also required for efficient Pol II passage6,7, could bind the oriented nucleosome with its motor domain. The DNA-binding region of Chd1 must however be released from DNA when Pol II approaches the nucleosome, and based on published data8,9 this is predicted to stimulate Chd1 activity and to facilitate Pol II passage. Our results provide a starting point for a mechanistic analysis of chromatin transcription.