Phosphorylation of the RNA polymerase II carboxyl-terminal domain in human cytomegalovirus-infected cells and in vitro by the viral UL97 protein kinase.

The carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) ordinarily exists in electrophoretically distinct hypophosphorylated and hyperphosphorylated forms. Human cytomegalovirus infection induced forms of this subunit whose electrophoretic mobilities were intermediate without decreases in abundance of the original forms. Phosphatase treatment nearly eliminated the intermediate migrating forms. In vitro, the viral protein kinase, UL97, phosphorylated this subunit, a recombinant protein containing the CTD, and peptides containing the CTD consensus sequence, YSPTSPS. Phosphorylation occurred predominantly on serine 5 and was substantially reduced when either serine 2 or 5 was already phosphorylated. The abundance of the intermediate and hypophosphorylated forms was reduced at most twofold during infections in which UL97 was genetically or pharmacologically inhibited. These results identify a new pattern of RNA polymerase II modification induced by virus infection and a viral enzyme that phosphorylates the CTD in vitro, but only possibly in vivo.