Structural basis of eukaryotic transcription termination by the Rat1 exonuclease complex

The 5’-3’ exoribonuclease Rat1 (or Xrn2) plays a pivotal role in termination of mRNA transcription by eukaryotic RNA polymerase II (RNAPII). Rat1 forms a complex with its partner proteins, Rai1 and Rtt103, and acts as a “torpedo” to bind transcribing RNAPII and dissociate DNA/RNA from it. Here we report the cryo-electron microscopy structures of a Rat1-Rai1-Rtt103 complex and three Rat1-Rai1-associated RNAPII complexes (type-1, type-1b, and type-2) from the yeast Komagataella phaffii . The Rat1-Rai1-Rtt103 complex structure revealed that Rat1 and Rai1 form a heterotetramer, with a single Rtt103 bound between two Rai1 molecules. In the type-1 complex, Rat1-Rai1 forms a heterodimer and directly binds to the RNA exit site of transcribing RNAPII to extract RNA into the Rat1 nuclease active site. This interaction changes the RNA path in favor of termination (the “pre-termination” state). The type-1b and type-2 complexes have no bound DNA/RNA, likely representing the “post-termination” states. These structures shed light on the mechanism of eukaryotic mRNA transcription termination.