The genes transcribed by RNA polymerase III (Pol III) generally have intragenic 
promoter elements. One of them, the yeast U6 snRNA (SNR6) gene is activated in 
vitro by a positioned nucleosome between its intragenic box A and extragenic, 
downstream box B separated by approximately 200 bp. We demonstrate here that the 
in vivo chromatin structure of the gene region is characterized by the presence 
of an array of positioned nucleosomes, with only one of them in the 5' end of 
the gene having a regulatory role. A positioned nucleosome present between boxes 
A and B in vivo does not move when the gene is repressed due to nutritional 
deprivation. In contrast, the upstream nucleosome which covers the TATA box 
under repressed conditions is shifted approximately 50 bp further upstream by 
the ATP-dependent chromatin remodeler RSC upon activation. It is marked with the 
histone variant H2A.Z and H4K16 acetylation in active state. In the absence of 
H2A.Z, the chromatin structure of the gene does not change, suggesting that 
H2A.Z is not required for establishing the active chromatin structure. These 
results show that the chromatin structure directly participates in regulation of 
a Pol III-transcribed gene under different states of its activity in vivo.