Interaction between Transcription Elongation Factors and mRNA 3′-End Formation at the Saccharomyces cerevisiae GAL10-GAL7 Locus

Spt6 is a conserved transcription factor that associates with RNA polymerase II (pol II) during elongation. Spt6 is essential for viability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and regulates chromatin structure during pol II transcription. Here we present evidence that mutations that impair Spt6, a second elongation factor, Spt4, and pol II can affect 3′-end formation at GAL10. Additional analysis suggests that Spt6 is required for cotranscriptional association of the factor Ctr9, a member of the Paf1 complex, with GAL10 and GAL7, and that Ctr9 association with chromatin 3′ of GAL10 is regulated by the GAL10 polyadenylation signal. Overall, these results provide new evidence for a connection between the transcription elongation factor Spt6 and 3′-end formation in vivo.