Transcription in all living organisms is accomplished by multi-subunit RNA polymerases (msRNAPs). msRNAPs are highly conserved in evolution and invariably share a â¼400âkDa five-subunit catalytic core. Here we characterize a hypothetical â¼100âkDa single-chain protein, YonO, encoded by the SPβ prophage of Bacillus subtilis. YonO shares very distant homology with msRNAPs, but no homology with single-subunit polymerases. We show that despite homology to only a few amino acids of msRNAP, and the absence of most of the conserved domains, YonO is a highly processive DNA-dependent RNA polymerase. We demonstrate that YonO is a bona fide RNAP of the SPβ bacteriophage that specifically transcribes its late genes, and thus represents a novel type of bacteriophage RNAPs. YonO and related proteins present in various bacteria and bacteriophages have diverged from msRNAPs before the Last Universal and, thus, may resemble the single-subunit ancestor of all msRNAPs.
Sample name | Organism | Experiment title | Sample type | Library instrument | Attributes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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genotype | mitomycin | source name | strain | sub species | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ΔyonO mitomycin rep3 | Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis str. 168 | GSM2137067: ΔyonO mitomycin rep3; Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis str. 168; RNA-Seq | RNA-Seq | NextSeq 500 | delta-yonO | 0.5 ug/ml | bacteria | 168CA | subtilis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ΔyonO mitomycin rep2 | Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis str. 168 | GSM2137066: ΔyonO mitomycin rep2; Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis str. 168; RNA-Seq | RNA-Seq | NextSeq 500 | delta-yonO | 0.5 ug/ml | bacteria | 168CA | subtilis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ΔyonO mitomycin rep1 | Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis str. 168 | GSM2137065: ΔyonO mitomycin rep1; Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis str. 168; RNA-Seq | RNA-Seq | NextSeq 500 | delta-yonO | 0.5 ug/ml | bacteria | 168CA | subtilis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ΔyonO rep3 | Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis str. 168 | GSM2137064: ΔyonO rep3; Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis str. 168; RNA-Seq | RNA-Seq | NextSeq 500 | delta-yonO | 0 ug/ml | bacteria | 168CA | subtilis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ΔyonO rep2 | Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis str. 168 | GSM2137063: ΔyonO rep2; Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis str. 168; RNA-Seq | RNA-Seq | NextSeq 500 | delta-yonO | 0 ug/ml | bacteria | 168CA | subtilis |