Promoter strength and structure dictate module composition in RNA polymerase III transcriptional activator elements

RNA polymerase III transcription of genes with external promoters only (e.g. U6 snRNA) or containing in addition an internal B box (selenocysteine tRNA(Sec)) is stimulated by upstream elements; a distal sequence element (DSE) for U6 or an activator element in the tRNA(Sec) gene. In contrast to the composite structure of the DSE which requires an octamer motif, the Xenopus tRNA(Sec) activator element contains an SPH motif only. In vivo transcription is optimally stimulated by SPH in an absolute octamer-independent manner since adding octamer does not induce superstimulation. Experiments performed in the work presented here led to the following observations. Co-operation between SPH and octamer motifs can be detected in two distinct cases: first when these motifs are placed in front of B box-less tRNA(Sec) or U6 external promoters and second, if either element of the external promoter (proximal sequence element or TATA element), or the SPH motif itself, are altered. Altogether, our data provide evidence that an SPH motif can function alone in an optimized promoter only. In contrast, an octamer becomes indispensable when the basal promoter is weak or disabled. It follows that module composition of Pol III transcriptional activator elements is dependent on the structure and strength of the promoter. This reveals the existence of cross-talk between activator and promoter elements, mediated by the bound transcription factors, which are thus able to compensate for each other in order to allow successful assembly of the transcription complex.