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Science 12 December 1997:
Vol. 278. no. 5345, pp. 1960 - 1963
DOI: 10.1126/science.278.5345.1960
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Reports

Mechanism of Transcription Through the Nucleosome by Eukaryotic RNA Polymerase

Vasily M. Studitsky, * George A. Kassavetis, E. Peter Geiduschek, Gary Felsenfeld dagger

Nucleosomes, the nucleohistone subunits of chromatin, are present on transcribed eukaryotic genes but do not prevent transcription. It is shown here that the large yeast RNA polymerase III transcribes through a single nucleosome. This takes place through a direct internal nucleosome transfer in which histones never leave the DNA template. During this process, the polymerase pauses with a pronounced periodicity of 10 to 11 base pairs, which is consistent with restricted rotation in the DNA loop formed during transfer. Transcription through nucleosomes by the eukaryotic enzyme and by much smaller prokaryotic RNA polymerases thus shares many features, reflecting an important property of nucleosomes.

V. M. Studitsky and G. Felsenfeld, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
G. A. Kassavetis and E. P. Geiduschek, Department of Biology and Center for Molecular Genetics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0634, USA.
*   Present address: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 540 East Canfield Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.

dagger    To whom correspondence should be addressed.

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