Multiple rounds of transcription by RNA polymerase II at covalently cross-linked templates

An important control point for gene regulation is the frequency of initiations leading to different numbers of RNA polymerases simultaneously transcribing the same gene. To date, the only direct assay for multiple-round transcription by RNA polymerase II in vitro required G-free cassette-containing templates and GTP-free conditions and was thus restricted in application. Here we used instead templates containing a triplex-directed interstrand psoralen-DNA cross-link to block RNA polymerase II elongation at a specific location. Covalently cross-linked templates allowed simultaneous detection of both specific initiation and reinitiation with any combination of promoter and transcribed sequence. In reconstituted systems, identical stacking of RNA polymerases was observed when the first polymerase was halted by GTP deprivation at the end of a G-free cassette or by a covalent cross-link downstream of different transcribed sequences. In contrast to transcription of G-free cassettes, reinitiation was unaffected by the transcription factor SII on sequences containing all four nucleotides. In crude nuclear extracts, transcription of covalently cross-linked templates yielded a reinitiation pattern with a wider spacing than in more purified fractions, indicating that the elongation complexes from nuclear extract contained a different form of RNA polymerase II or a different complement of associated factors.