+Search query
-Structure paper
| Title | Cryo-EM structure of a mammalian RNA polymerase II elongation complex inhibited by α-amanitin. |
|---|---|
| Journal, issue, pages | J Biol Chem, Vol. 293, Issue 19, Page 7189-7194, Year 2018 |
| Publish date | May 11, 2018 |
Authors | Xiangyang Liu / Lucas Farnung / Christoph Wigge / Patrick Cramer / ![]() |
| PubMed Abstract | RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is the central enzyme that transcribes eukaryotic protein-coding genes to produce mRNA. The mushroom toxin α-amanitin binds Pol II and inhibits transcription at the step ...RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is the central enzyme that transcribes eukaryotic protein-coding genes to produce mRNA. The mushroom toxin α-amanitin binds Pol II and inhibits transcription at the step of RNA chain elongation. Pol II from yeast binds α-amanitin with micromolar affinity, whereas metazoan Pol II enzymes exhibit nanomolar affinities. Here, we present the high-resolution cryo-EM structure of α-amanitin bound to and inhibited by its natural target, the mammalian Pol II elongation complex. The structure revealed that the toxin is located in a pocket previously identified in yeast Pol II but forms additional contacts with metazoan-specific residues, which explains why its affinity to mammalian Pol II is ∼3000 times higher than for yeast Pol II. Our work provides the structural basis for the inhibition of mammalian Pol II by the natural toxin α-amanitin and highlights that cryo-EM is well suited to studying interactions of a small molecule with its macromolecular target. |
External links | J Biol Chem / PubMed:29550768 / PubMed Central |
| Methods | EM (single particle) |
| Resolution | 3.6 Å |
| Structure data | |
| Chemicals | ![]() ChemComp-ZN: ![]() ChemComp-MG: |
| Source |
|
Keywords | TRANSCRIPTION / Inhibitor / elongation / active site |
Movie
Controller
Structure viewers
About Yorodumi Papers



Authors
External links




amanita phalloides (death cap)
Keywords