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Molecular and Cellular Biology, April 2007, p. 3211-3216, Vol. 27, No. 8
0270-7306/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/MCB.00091-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

ELA1 and CUL3 Are Required Along with ELC1 for RNA Polymerase II Polyubiquitylation and Degradation in DNA-Damaged Yeast Cells

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555-1061

Received 16 January 2007/ Accepted 6 February 2007

Treatment of yeast and human cells with DNA-damaging agents elicits lysine 48-linked polyubiquitylation of Rpb1, the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (Pol II), which targets Pol II for proteasomal degradation. However, the ubiquitin ligase (E3) responsible for Pol II polyubiquitylation has not been identified in humans or the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Here we show that elongin A (Ela1) and cullin 3 (Cul3) are required for Pol II polyubiquitylation and degradation in yeast cells, and on the basis of these and other observations, we propose that an E3 comprised of elongin C (Elc1), Ela1, Cul3, and the RING finger protein Roc1 (Rbx1) mediates this process in yeast cells. This study provides, in addition to the identification of the E3 required for Pol II polyubiquitylation and degradation in yeast cells, the first evidence for a specific function in yeast for a member of the elongin C/BC-box protein/cullin family of ligases. Also, these observations raise the distinct possibility that the elongin C-containing ubiquitin ligase, the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor complex, promotes Pol II polyubiquitylation and degradation in human cells.

Published ahead of print on 12 February 2007.

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