Molecular basis for 5-carboxycytosine recognition by rna polymerase ii elongation complex

• Autores: Lanfeng Wang, Yu Zhou, Liang Xu, Rui Xiao, Xingyu Lu, Liang Chen, Jenny Chong, Hairi Li, Chuan He, Xiang-Dong Fu, Dong Wang
• Localización: Nature: International weekly journal of science, ISSN 0028-0836, Vol. 523, Nº 7562, 2015, págs. 621-625
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • DNA methylation at selective cytosine residues (5-methylcytosine (5mC)) and their removal by TET-mediated DNA demethylation are critical for setting up pluripotent states in early embryonic development1,2. TET enzymes successively convert 5mC to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC), and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC), with 5fC and 5caC subject to removal by thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) in conjunction with base excision repair1-6. Early reports indicate that 5fC and 5caC could be stably detected on enhancers, promoters and gene bodies, with distinct effects on gene expression, but the mechanisms have remained elusive7,8. Here we determined the X-ray crystal structure of yeast elongating RNA polymerase II (Pol II) in complex with a DNA template containing oxidized 5mCs, revealing specific hydrogen bonds between the 5-carboxyl group of 5caC and the conserved epi-DNA recognition loop in the polymerase. This causes a positional shift for incoming nucleoside 5"-triphosphate (NTP), thus compromising nucleotide addition. To test the implication of this structural insight in vivo, we determined the global effect of increased 5fC/5caC levels on transcription, finding that such DNA modifications indeed retarded Pol II elongation on gene bodies. These results demonstrate the functional impact of oxidized 5mCs on gene expression and suggest a novel role for Pol II as a specific and direct epigenetic sensor during transcription elongation.