Repeat-specific functions for the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II in budding yeast

The C-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) is required to regulate transcription and to integrate it with other essential cellular processes. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the CTD of Rpb1p consists of 26 conserved heptad repeats that are post-translationally modified to orchestrate protein factor binding at different stages of the transcription cycle. A long-standing question in the study of the CTD is if there are any functional differences between the 26 repeats. In this study, we present evidence that repeats of identical sequence have different functions based on their position within the CTD. We assembled plasmids expressing Rpb1p with serine to alanine substitutions in three defined regions of the CTD and measured a range of phenotypes for yeast expressing these constructs. Mutations in the beginning and middle regions of the CTD had drastic, and region-specific effects, while mutating the distal region had no observable phenotype. Further mutational analysis determined that Ser5 within the first region of repeats was solely responsible for the observed growth differences and sequencing fast-growing suppressors allowed us to further define the functional regions of the CTD. This mutational analysis is consistent with current structural models for how the RNAPII holoenzyme and the CTD specifically would reside in complex with Mediator and establishes a foundation for studying regioselective binding along the repetitive RNAPII CTD.