Genome-wide chromosomal association of Upf1 is linked to Pol II transcription in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Issue 1 (20th December 2021) - De, Sandip
Abstract: Although the RNA helicase Upf1 has hitherto been examined mostly in relation to its cytoplasmic role in nonsense mediated mRNA decay (NMD), here we report high-throughput ChIP data indicating genome-wide association of Upf1 with active genes in Schizosaccharomyces pombe . This association is RNase sensitive, correlates with Pol II transcription and mRNA expression levels. Changes in Pol II occupancy were detected in a Upf1 deficient ( upf1Δ ) strain, prevalently at genes showing a high Upf1 relative to Pol II association in wild-type. Additionally, an increased Ser2 Pol II signal was detected at all highly transcribed genes examined by ChIP-qPCR. Furthermore, upf1Δ cells are hypersensitive to the transcription elongation inhibitor 6-azauracil. A significant proportion of the genes associated with Upf1 in wild-type conditions are also mis-regulated in upf1Δ . These data envisage that by operating on the nascent transcript, Upf1 might influence Pol II phosphorylation and transcription.