5n9j

From Proteopedia

Core Mediator of transcriptional regulation

Structural highlights

5n9j is a 10 chain structure with sequence from Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Full crystallographic information is available from OCA. For a guided tour on the structure components use FirstGlance.
Method:	X-ray diffraction, Resolution 3.4Å
Resources:	FirstGlance, OCA, PDBe, RCSB, PDBsum, ProSAT

Function

MED14_SCHPO Component of the Mediator complex, a coactivator involved in the regulated transcription of nearly all RNA polymerase II-dependent genes. Mediator functions as a bridge to convey information from gene-specific regulatory proteins to the basal RNA polymerase II transcription machinery. Mediator is recruited to promoters by direct interactions with regulatory proteins and serves as a scaffold for the assembly of a functional preinitiation complex with RNA polymerase II and the general transcription factors.

Publication Abstract from PubMed

Mediator is a multiprotein co-activator that binds the transcription pre-initiation complex (PIC) and regulates RNA polymerase (Pol) II. The Mediator head and middle modules form the essential core Mediator (cMed), whereas the tail and kinase modules play regulatory roles. The architecture of Mediator and its position on the PIC are known, but atomic details are limited to Mediator subcomplexes. Here we report the crystal structure of the 15-subunit cMed from Schizosaccharomyces pombe at 3.4 A resolution. The structure shows an unaltered head module, and reveals the intricate middle module, which we show is globally required for transcription. Sites of known Mediator mutations cluster at the interface between the head and middle modules, and in terminal regions of the head subunits Med6 (ref. 16) and Med17 (ref. 17) that tether the middle module. The structure led to a model for Saccharomyces cerevisiae cMed that could be combined with the 3.6 A cryo-electron microscopy structure of the core PIC (cPIC). The resulting atomic model of the cPIC-cMed complex informs on interactions of the submodules forming the middle module, called beam, knob, plank, connector, and hook. The hook is flexibly linked to Mediator by a conserved hinge and contacts the transcription initiation factor IIH (TFIIH) kinase that phosphorylates the carboxy (C)-terminal domain (CTD) of Pol II and was recently positioned on the PIC. The hook also contains residues that crosslink to the CTD and reside in a previously described cradle. These results provide a framework for understanding Mediator function, including its role in stimulating CTD phosphorylation by TFIIH.

Core Mediator structure at 3.4 A extends model of transcription initiation complex.,Nozawa K, Schneider TR, Cramer P Nature. 2017 May 11;545(7653):248-251. doi: 10.1038/nature22328. Epub 2017 May 3. PMID:28467824^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

References

↑ Nozawa K, Schneider TR, Cramer P. Core Mediator structure at 3.4 A extends model of transcription initiation complex. Nature. 2017 May 11;545(7653):248-251. doi: 10.1038/nature22328. Epub 2017 May 3. PMID:28467824 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature22328