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Molecular and Cellular Biology, September 2001, p. 6056-6065, Vol. 21, No. 17
Service de Biochimie and
Génétique Moléculaire, CEA/Saclay, F-91191
Gif-sur-Yvette, France,1 and
Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry,
Russian Academy of Sciences, 117871 Moscow GSP-7 V437,
Russia2
Received 27 December 2000/Returned for modification 5 February
2001/Accepted 6 June 2001
Rpb8p, a subunit common to the three yeast RNA polymerases, is
conserved among eukaryotes and absent from noneukaryotes. Defective mutants were found at an invariant GGLLM motif and at two other highly
conserved amino acids. With one exception, they are clustered on the
Rpb8p structure. They all impair a two-hybrid interaction with a
fragment conserved in the largest subunits of RNA polymerases I
(Rpa190p), II (Rpb1p), and III (Rpc160p). This fragment corresponds to
the pore 1 module of the RNA polymerase II crystal structure and bears
a highly conserved motif (P.I.KP..LW.GKQ) facing the GGLLM motif of
Rpb8p. An RNA polymerase I mutant (rpa190-G728D) at the
invariant glycyl of P.I.KP..LW.GKQ provokes a
temperature-sensitive defect. Increasing the gene dosage of another
common subunit, Rpb6p, suppresses this phenotype. It also suppresses a
conditional growth defect observed when replacing Rpb8p by its human
counterpart. Hence, Rpb6p and Rpb8p functionally interact in vivo.
These two subunits are spatially separated by the pore 1 module and may also be possibly connected by the disorganized N half of Rpb6p, not
included in the present structure data. Human Rpb6p is phosphorylated at its N-terminal Ser2, but an alanyl replacement at this position still complements an rpb6-
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.17.6056-6065.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Partners of Rpb8p, a Small Subunit Shared by Yeast
RNA Polymerases I, II, and III

null allele. A two-hybrid
interaction also occurs between Rpb8p and the product of orphan gene
YGR089w. A ygr089-
null mutant has no
detectable growth defect but aggravates the conditional growth defect
of rpb8 mutants, suggesting that the interaction with
Rpb8p may be physiologically relevant.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Service de
Biochimie and Génétique Moléculaire, CEA/Saclay,
F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France. Phone: 33.1.69 08 35 86. Fax:
33.1.69 08 47 12. E-mail: thuriaux{at}matthieu.saclay.cea.fr.
Present address: Department of Experimental Biology, University of
Jaén, Paraje las Lagunillas, E-23071 Jaén, Spain.
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