FCP1, a Phosphatase Specific for the Heptapeptide Repeat of the Largest Subunit of RNA Polymerase II, Stimulates Transcription Elongation

FCP1, a phosphatase specific for the carboxy-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II (RNAP II), was found to stimulate transcript elongation by RNAP II in vitro and in vivo. This activity is independent of and distinct from the elongation-stimulatory activity associated with transcription factor IIF (TFIIF), and the elongation effects of TFIIF and FCP1 were found to be additive. Genetic experiments resulted in the isolation of several distinct fcp1 alleles. One of these alleles was found to suppress the slow-growth phenotype associated with either the reduction of intracellular nucleotide concentrations or the inhibition of other transcription elongation factors. Importantly, this allele of fcp1 was found to be lethal when combined individually with two mutations in the second-largest subunit of RNAP II, which had been shown previously to affect transcription elongation.