Spt6 association with RNAPII directs mRNA turnover during transcription

Spt6 is an essential histone chaperone that mediates nucleosome reassembly during gene transcription. Spt6 interacts with elongating RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) via a tandem Src2 homology (tSH2) domain, but it is not known whether this particular interaction is required for the nucleosome reassembly activity of Spt6. Here, we show that Spt6 recruitment to genes and its nucleosome reassembly functions are largely independent of association with RNAPII. Instead, the Spt6-RNAPII association is required for post-transcriptional mRNA turnover. Mechanistically, association of Spt6 with RNAPII couples the Ccr4-Not complex to the transcribed regions of genes, which we show regulates the timely deadenylation and degradation of a broad range of mRNAs including those required for cell cycle progression. Thus, our findings reveal an unexpected control mechanism for mRNA turnover facilitated by a histone chaperone during transcription. RNA-seq (3 replicates) and ATAC-seq (3 replicates), along with other biochemical assays, were performed on WT vs tSH2 mutants of Spt6 to understanding the role of Spt6 in regulation of mRNA stability in yeast.