Identification of two steps during Xenopus ribosomal gene transcription that are sensitive to protein phosphorylation.

Protein kinase(s) and protein phosphatase(s) present in a Xenopus S-100 transcription extract strongly influence promoter-dependent transcription by RNA polymerase I. The protein kinase inhibitor 6-dimethyl-aminopurine causes transcription to increase, while the protein phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid causes transcription to decrease. Repression is also observed with inhibitor 2, and the addition of extra protein phosphatase 1 stimulates transcription, indicating that the endogenous phosphatase is a type 1 enzyme. Partial fractionation of the system, single-round transcription reactions, and kinetic experiments show that two different steps during ribosomal gene transcription are sensitive to protein phosphorylation: okadaic acid affects a step before or during transcription initiation, while 6-dimethylaminopurine stimulates a process "late" in the reaction, possibly reinitiation. The present results are a clear demonstration that transcription by RNA polymerase I can be regulated by protein phosphorylation.