InterPro domain: IPR038823

This entry represents mediator of RNA polymerase II transcription subunit 2 (Med2) from plants.

The Mediator complex is a coactivator involved in the regulated transcription of nearly all RNA polymerase II-dependent genes. Mediator functions as a bridge to convey information from gene-specific regulatory proteins to the basal RNA polymerase II transcription machinery. The Mediator complex, having a compact conformation in its free form, is recruited to promoters by direct interactions with regulatory proteins and serves for the assembly of a functional preinitiation complex with RNA polymerase II and the general transcription factors. On recruitment the Mediator complex unfolds to an extended conformation and partially surrounds RNA polymerase II, specifically interacting with the unphosphorylated form of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II. The Mediator complex dissociates from the RNA polymerase II holoenzyme and stays at the promoter when transcriptional elongation begins [ 1 ].

1. A unified nomenclature for protein subunits of mediator complexes linking transcriptional regulators to RNA polymerase II. Mol. Cell 14, 553-7