RNA Polymerase II interactome in presence or absence of SPT6 in U2OS cells

SPT6 is a histone chaperone that tightly binds RNA polymerase II (POL2) during transcription elongation. However, its primary role in POL2 transcription is uncertain. We used targeted protein degradation to rapidly deplete SPT6 in human cells and analyzed defects in POL2 behavior by a multi-omics approach and mathematical modeling. Our data indicate that SPT6 is a crucial factor for POL2 processivity and is therefore required for the productive transcription of protein-coding genes. Unexpectedly, SPT6 also has a vital role in POL2 termination, as acute depletion induced readthrough transcription for thousands of genes. Long-term depletion of SPT6 induced cryptic intragenic transcription, as observed earlier in yeast. However, this phenotype was not observed upon acute SPT6 depletion and therefore can be attributed to accumulated epigenetic perturbations in the absence of SPT6. In conclusion, targeted protein degradation of SPT6 allowed the temporal discrimination of its function as an epigenetic safeguard and POL2 elongation factor.