pTAC3 and pTAC14 are required for binding of plastid-encoded RNA polymerase to DNA
Plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (PEP) is a bacterial-type multisubunit RNA polymerase responsible for the majority of transcription in chloroplasts. PEP consists of four core subunits, which are orthologs of their cyanobacterial counterparts. In Arabidopsis thaliana, PEP associates with 12 PEP-associated proteins (PAPs), which serve as peripheral subunits of the RNA polymerase. The exact contributions of PAPs to PEP function are still poorly understood. We use ptChIP-seq to show that PAP1/pTAC3, a peripheral subunit of PEP, binds to the same genomic loci as RpoB, a core subunit of PEP. The pap1/ptac3 mutant shows a complete loss of RpoB binding to DNA throughout the genome, indicating that PAP1/pTAC3 is necessary for RpoB binding to DNA. A similar loss of RpoB binding to DNA is observed in the pap7/ptac14 mutant, which is defective in another peripheral PEP subunit. We propose that the peripheral subunits of PEP are required for the recruitment of core PEP subunits to DNA. KEY MESSAGEThe peripheral subunits of plastid-encoded RNA polymerase play a crucial role in recruiting the core PEP subunits to DNA in Arabidopsis chloroplasts.