Identification of upstream promoter elements mediating early transcription from the 35,000-molecular-weight protein gene of Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus.

Site-directed mutagenesis was used to examine the organization of cis-acting regulatory elements that comprise the promoter of the early 35,000-molecular-weight protein gene (35K protein gene) encoded by the EcoRI-S region of the baculovirus Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus. The promoter fragment, extending from positions -226 to +12 relative to the early RNA start site (position +1), was fused to the reporter gene encoding chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) and then inserted into the genome of recombinant viruses (3.96 map units) in order to ascertain the role of regulatory elements in the context of a normal infection. A combination of deletions and linker insertions revealed that early transcription was mediated by a basal (minimum) promoter, consisting of the TATA element (positions -30 to -25), that was in turn responsive to an upstream activating region located between -90 and -30. The TATA element exerted the single greatest influence on the level of early promoter activity and contained all information necessary to direct transcription from a site located 30 nucleotides downstream. The upstream activating region provided a 10- to 15-fold stimulation of transcription from the early +1 start site that was mediated by distinct DNA elements. These regulatory elements included two GC motifs (centered at positions -81 and -54, respectively), composed of alternating G and C residues, and a CGT motif (position -40) that contained the core sequence A(A/T)CGT(G/T). Each motif was required for full promoter activity during the early phase of infection. This organization that employs diverse cis-acting stimulatory elements is typical of promoters responsive to RNA polymerase II and may facilitate increased expression of A. californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus genes early in infection when the level of viral DNA for transcription is critically low.