RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 RNA polymerase backtracking results in the accumulation of fission yeast condensin at active genes
JF Life Science Alliance
JO Life Sci. Alliance
FD Life Science Alliance LLC
SP e202101046
DO 10.26508/lsa.202101046
VO 4
IS 6
A1 Rivosecchi, Julieta
A1 Jost, Daniel
A1 Vachez, Laetitia
A1 Gautier, François DR
A1 Bernard, Pascal
A1 Vanoosthuyse, Vincent
YR 2021
UL https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/4/6/e202101046.abstract
AB The mechanisms leading to the accumulation of the SMC complexes condensins around specific transcription units remain unclear. Observations made in bacteria suggested that RNA polymerases (RNAPs) constitute an obstacle to SMC translocation, particularly when RNAP and SMC travel in opposite directions. Here we show in fission yeast that gene termini harbour intrinsic condensin-accumulating features whatever the orientation of transcription, which we attribute to the frequent backtracking of RNAP at gene ends. Consistent with this, to relocate backtracked RNAP2 from gene termini to gene bodies was sufficient to cancel the accumulation of condensin at gene ends and to redistribute it evenly within transcription units, indicating that RNAP backtracking may play a key role in positioning condensin. Formalization of this hypothesis in a mathematical model suggests that the inclusion of a sub-population of RNAP with longer dwell-times is essential to fully recapitulate the distribution profiles of condensin around active genes. Taken together, our data strengthen the idea that dense arrays of proteins tightly bound to DNA alter the distribution of condensin on chromosomes.