Separation of a functional deubiquitylating module from the SAGA complex by the proteasome regulatory particle

Gene expression is an intricate process tightly linked from gene activation to the nuclear export of mRNA. Recent studies have indicated that the proteasome is essential for gene expression regulation. The proteasome regulatory particle binds to the SAGA complex and affects transcription in an ATP-dependent manner. Here we report that a specific interaction between the proteasomal ATPase, Rpt2p and Sgf73p of the SAGA complex leads to the dissociation of the H2Bub1-deubiquitylating module (herein designated the Sgf73-DUBm) from SAGA both in vitro and in vivo. We show that the localization of the Sgf73-DUBm on chromatin is perturbed in rpt2-1, a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that is specifically defective in the Rpt2p-Sgf73p interaction. The rpt2-1 mutant also exhibits impaired localization of the TREX-2 and MEX67-MTR2 complexes and is defective in mRNA export. Our findings collectively demonstrate that the proteasome-mediated remodelling of the SAGA complex is a prerequisite for proper mRNA export.