Werner Finn, Wiesler Simone, Nottebaum Sven, Weinzierl Robert O J
Imperial College London, Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
Biochem Soc Symp. 2006(73):49-58. doi: 10.1042/bss0730049.
The archaeal basal transcriptional machinery consists of TBP (TATA-binding protein), TFB (transcription factor B; a homologue of eukaryotic TFIIB) and an RNA polymerase that is structurally very similar to eukaryotic RNA polymerase II. This constellation of factors is sufficient to assemble specifically on a TATA box-containing promoter and to initiate transcription at a specific start site. We have used this system to study the functional interaction between basal transcription factors and RNA polymerase, with special emphasis on the post-recruitment function of TFB. A bioinformatics analysis of the B-finger of archaeal TFB and eukaryotic TFIIB reveals that this structure undergoes rapid and apparently systematic evolution in archaeal and eukaryotic evolutionary domains. We provide a detailed analysis of these changes and discuss their possible functional implications.
古菌基础转录机制由TBP（TATA结合蛋白）、TFB（转录因子B；真核TFIIB的同源物）和一种在结构上与真核RNA聚合酶II非常相似的RNA聚合酶组成。这一组因素足以特异性地组装在含有TATA框的启动子上，并在特定的起始位点启动转录。我们利用这个系统研究基础转录因子与RNA聚合酶之间的功能相互作用，特别强调TFB招募后的功能。对古菌TFB和真核TFIIB的B指结构域进行生物信息学分析发现，这种结构在古菌和真核进化域中经历了快速且明显的系统进化。我们对这些变化进行了详细分析，并讨论了它们可能的功能意义。
