The RNA polymerase I transcription factor UBF is the product of a primary response gene

Transcription of the ribosomal RNA genes by RNA polymerase I is tightly coordinated with the rate of cell growth. The RNA polymerase I transcription factor, UBF, activates transcription by binding to elements within the promoter and enhancer elements within the intergenic spacer but is not required for basal transcription. To assess the role of UBF in modulating ribosomal DNA transcription, we studied its expression in NIH3T6 fibroblasts when transcription was repressed in response to serum starvation and stimulated following refeeding. Our results demonstrate a correlation between the amounts of UBF protein and the rates of ribosomal DNA transcription in quiescent and serum-stimulated cells. Nuclear run-on assays and Northern blot analyses demonstrated that the UBF gene was a primary response gene, exhibiting characteristics similar to those of c-myc and SRF. These results suggest that the regulation of transcription of the UBF gene by polymerase II represents a pathway by which cells modulate transcription by RNA polymerase I.