Transcription, in which RNA polymerases (RNAPs) produce RNA from DNA, is the first step of gene expression. As such, it is highly regulated either by trans-elements like protein factors and/or by cis-elements like specific sequences on the DNA. Lambdoid phage HK022 contains a cis-element, put, which suppresses pausing and termination during transcription of the early phage genes. The putRNA transcript solely performs the anti-pausing/termination activities by interacting directly with the E.coli RNAP elongation complex (EC) by an unknown structural mechanism. In this study, we reconstituted putRNA-associated ECs and determined the structures using cryo-electron microscopy. The determined structures of putRNA-associated EC, putRNA-absent EC, and σ70-bound EC suggest that the putRNA interaction with the EC counteracts swiveling, a conformational change previously identified to promote pausing and σ70 might modulate putRNA folding via σ70-dependent pausing during elongation.
© 2022. The Author(s).