TRAMP complex

GO:0031499 · Other · Multiprotein complex · Proposed

A multiprotein complex having distributive polyadenylation activity of a variety of RNA substrates including hypomodified and incorrectly folded tRNAs, pre-snRNAs, pre-snoRNAs, incorrectly spliced or processed pre-mRNAs, cryptic unstable transcripts (CUTs), pre-rRNAs and rRNA fragments released as part of rRNA processing. In S. cerevisiae, the complex consists of either Pap2 (also known as Trf4) or Trf5, Air1 or Air2, and Mtr4, and is involved in RNA 3'-end processing and in RNA surveillance and quality control. [GO:0031499]

Synonyms: TRAMP4 complex; TRAMP5 complex; Trf4 complex; Trf4p-Air2p-Mtr4p polyadenylation complex; Trf4 poly(A) polymerase complex

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Components

Component	Type	Part of / acts on	Grounding	Genes	Essential	Role
Trf4/Trf5 poly(A) polymerase subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	TRF4, TRF5	UNKNOWN	Distributive poly(A) polymerase catalytic constituent of budding-yeast TRAMP4 or TRAMP5 complexes. `GO:0031499` GO:0031499 defines Saccharomyces TRAMP as containing either Pap2/Trf4 or Trf5. `DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030189` Vanacova et al. 2005 identified Trf4p as the catalytic subunit of a yeast poly(A) polymerase complex.
Air1/Air2 RNA-binding subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	AIR1, AIR2	UNKNOWN	Putative RNA-binding zinc-knuckle constituent of budding-yeast TRAMP complexes. `GO:0031499` GO:0031499 defines Saccharomyces TRAMP as containing Air1 or Air2. `DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030189` Vanacova et al. 2005 detected Air1p or Air2p as potential RNA-binding subunits of the Trf4p complex.
Mtr4 RNA helicase subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	MTR4	UNKNOWN	Putative RNA helicase constituent of budding-yeast TRAMP complexes. `GO:0031499` GO:0031499 defines Saccharomyces TRAMP as containing Mtr4. `DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030189` Vanacova et al. 2005 detected Mtr4p in the Trf4p poly(A) polymerase complex.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — COMMON: Budding yeast has TRAMP complexes containing Pap2/Trf4 or Trf5, Air1 or Air2, and Mtr4. [GO:0031499]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — Reference budding-yeast system in which Vanacova et al. identified Trf4p, Air1p or Air2p, and Mtr4p as constituents of a new RNA-quality-control poly(A) polymerase complex. [DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030189]

Functions

polyadenylation-dependent RNA catabolic process GO:0043633 — TRAMP polyadenylates RNA substrates to promote exosome-mediated RNA degradation.
- GO:0031499 GO:0031499 defines TRAMP as a distributive polyadenylation complex involved in RNA surveillance.
- GO:0043633 GO:0043633 is the Gene Ontology biological-process term for polyadenylation-dependent RNA catabolic process.
- DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030189 Vanacova et al. 2005 connected Trf4-complex polyadenylation to nuclear exosome degradation of an unmodified tRNA substrate in vitro.
nuclear RNA surveillance GO:0071027 — TRAMP participates in nuclear RNA surveillance and quality control in budding yeast.
- GO:0031499 GO:0031499 defines TRAMP as involved in RNA surveillance and quality control.
- GO:0071027 GO:0071027 is the Gene Ontology biological-process term for nuclear RNA surveillance.

Mechanism graphs

TRAMP polyadenylates RNAs for surveillance (FUNCTION)

The Saccharomyces Trf4/Trf5, Air1/Air2 and Mtr4 proteins form TRAMP complexes that polyadenylate RNA substrates for surveillance-linked degradation.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
Trf4/Trf5 poly(A) polymerase subunit	contributes to	TRAMP complex	`GO:0031499` GO:0031499 defines Saccharomyces TRAMP as containing either Pap2/Trf4 or Trf5.
Air1/Air2 RNA-binding subunit	contributes to	TRAMP complex	`GO:0031499` GO:0031499 defines Saccharomyces TRAMP as containing Air1 or Air2.
Mtr4 RNA helicase subunit	contributes to	TRAMP complex	`GO:0031499` GO:0031499 defines Saccharomyces TRAMP as containing Mtr4.
TRAMP complex	supports	polyadenylation-dependent RNA catabolic process	`DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030189` Vanacova et al. 2005 connected Trf4-complex polyadenylation activity to nuclear exosome degradation of an RNA substrate.
TRAMP complex	supports	nuclear RNA surveillance	`GO:0031499` GO:0031499 defines TRAMP as involved in RNA surveillance and quality control. `GO:0071027` GO:0071027 is the biological-process term for nuclear RNA surveillance.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact source-neutral family groundings for the Trf4/Trf5, Air1/Air2 and Mtr4 constituents of the TRAMP complex. GO:0031499 exactly identifies the yeast TRAMP complex, but exact InterPro, Pfam, NCBIfam or UniProtKB family boundaries for the alternating catalytic and RNA-binding subunit classes need narrower follow-up curation.

Evidence

GO:0031499 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the TRAMP complex.
GO:0140513 Gene Ontology cellular-component parent term for nuclear protein-containing complexes.
GO:0043633 Gene Ontology biological-process term for polyadenylation-dependent RNA catabolic process.
GO:0071027 Gene Ontology biological-process term for nuclear RNA surveillance.
PMID:15828860 PubMed identifier for Vanacova et al. 2005, the PLoS Biology paper on a yeast RNA-quality-control poly(A) polymerase complex.
DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030189 DOI for Vanacova et al. 2005, verified through PubMed.

Curation history

2026-09-27T12:33:41Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-27T12:34:23Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added GO TRAMP narrow synonymy, nuclear protein-containing-complex parentage, three reviewed-label-only budding-yeast constituent rows, Saccharomyces cerevisiae scope, RNA-surveillance function evidence, GO/PubMed/DOI evidence, a nonmechanistic function graph, and a TRAMP subunit-grounding TODO.

Source: data/structures/other/tramp_complex.yaml