RPC82 encodes the highly conserved, third-largest subunit of RNA polymerase C (III) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

RNA polymerase C (III) promotes the transcription of tRNA and 5S RNA genes. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the enzyme is composed of 15 subunits, ranging from 160 to about 10 kDa. Here we report the cloning of the gene encoding the 82-kDa subunit, RPC82. It maps as a single-copy gene on chromosome XVI. The UCR2 gene was found in the opposite orientation only 340 bp upstream of the RPC82 start codon, and the end of the SKI3 coding sequence was found only 117 bp downstream of the RPC82 stop codon. The RPC82 gene encodes a protein with a predicted M(r) of 73,984, having no strong sequence similarity to other known proteins. Disruption of the RPC82 gene was lethal. An rpc82 temperature-sensitive mutant, constructed by in vitro mutagenesis of the gene, showed a deficient rate of tRNA relative to rRNA synthesis. Of eight RNA polymerase C genes tested, only the RPC31 gene on a multicopy plasmid was capable of suppressing the rpc82(Ts) defect, suggesting an interaction between the polymerase C 82-kDa and 31-kDa subunits. A group of RNA polymerase C-specific subunits are proposed to form a substructure of the enzyme.