Fikes J D, Becker D M, Winston F, Guarente L
Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.
Nature. 1990 Jul 19;346(6281):291-4. doi: 10.1038/346291a0.
Eukaryotic promoters contain binding sites for basic transcription factors and gene-specific activator proteins. The transcription factors interact at the TATA box, which lies close to the position of transcription initiation. Activators typically bind to distant sites that can lie kilobases away from the initiation site. The factor TFIID binds specifically to the TATA box to initiate an ordered pathway of assembly of the basic transcription factors. Biochemical analyses have shown that human and Saccharomyces cerevisiae TFIID are functionally interchangeable in vitro. To study further the functional conservation of this critical factor, we are surveying proteins from divergent organisms that can substitute in vivo for the S. cerevisiae TFIID. We report here the isolation of a unique gene from Schizosaccharomyces pombe that fully complements a null mutation in SPT15, the gene that encodes TFIID in S. cerevisiae. The Schiz. pombe gene encodes a protein 93% identical (166/178) to S. cerevisiae TFIID in a region consisting of a direct repeat.
真核生物启动子包含基础转录因子和基因特异性激活蛋白的结合位点。转录因子在靠近转录起始位置的TATA框处相互作用。激活剂通常结合在距离起始位点数千碱基远的远端位点。TFIID因子特异性结合TATA框，以启动基础转录因子有序组装的途径。生化分析表明，人和酿酒酵母的TFIID在体外功能上是可互换的。为了进一步研究这个关键因子的功能保守性，我们正在研究来自不同生物体的能够在体内替代酿酒酵母TFIID的蛋白质。我们在此报告从粟酒裂殖酵母中分离出一个独特的基因，该基因完全互补酿酒酵母中编码TFIID的基因SPT15的无效突变。粟酒裂殖酵母基因在由一个直接重复序列组成的区域编码一种与酿酒酵母TFIID有93%同一性（166/178）的蛋白质。
