{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"bioRxiv"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T18:55:21Z","timestamp":1790794521342,"version":"4.1.0"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]]},"group-title":"Biochemistry","reference-count":63,"publisher":"openRxiv","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790553600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"World Laureates Association"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>The +1 nucleosome has emerged as a key regulator of eukaryotic transcription, but how it controls transcription initiation remains poorly understood. Here we reconstitute transcription through the +1 nucleosome using eleven purified yeast factors: RNA polymerase II (Pol II), the six general transcription factors (GTFs), TFIIS, the activator Pho4, and the SAGA and Mediator complexes. The system recapitulates key features of regulation observed in vivo. SAGA, acting with Pho4, directs pre-initiation complex (PIC) assembly to the correct position through its TBP-loading activity. Mediator stimulates transcription when the +1 nucleosome imposes a barrier to PIC formation, consistent with stabilization of productive TFIIH\u2013DNA engagement. Contrary to the prevailing model, SAGA remains bound to the PIC after TBP loading and acetylates the +1 nucleosome within the assembled complex. The isolated PIC\u2013Mediator\u2013SAGA\u2013nucleosome complex is transcriptionally active, and the repressive effect of the nucleosome is relieved by the DNA translocase activity of Ssl2, the TFIIH subunit that opens promoter DNA. TFIIH thus couples promoter melting to remodeling of the +1 nucleosome.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.09.24.754195","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T10:30:16Z","timestamp":1790591416000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Reconstitution of +1 nucleosome transcription reveals coordinated functions of SAGA, Mediator, and TFIIH"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-0212-479X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shigeki","family":"Nagai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dong-Hua","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rayees U.H.","family":"Mattoo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Heqiao","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China; School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Roger D.","family":"Kornberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"54368","reference":[{"key":"2026093011050914000_2026.09.24.754195v1.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.molcel.2023.04.011"},{"key":"2026093011050914000_2026.09.24.754195v1.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature05632"},{"key":"2026093011050914000_2026.09.24.754195v1.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.molcel.2017.01.012"},{"key":"2026093011050914000_2026.09.24.754195v1.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.molcel.2017.08.016"},{"key":"2026093011050914000_2026.09.24.754195v1.5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/MCB.23.10.3468-3476.2003"},{"key":"2026093011050914000_2026.09.24.754195v1.6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/gad.1148404"},{"key":"2026093011050914000_2026.09.24.754195v1.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/yea.1660"},{"key":"2026093011050914000_2026.09.24.754195v1.8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmb.2021.166883"},{"key":"2026093011050914000_2026.09.24.754195v1.9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chen X , Qi Y , Wu Z , Wang X , Li J , Zhao D , Hou H , Li Y , Yu Z , Liu W et al. 2021a. 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