GHF-1 is a pituitary-specific transcription factor responsible for activation of the growth hormone (GH) gene. The GHF1 gene is expressed exclusively in cells of the somatotrophic lineage, and its transcription is extinguished in somatic cell hybrids. The minimal sequences required for differential transcription of GHF1 in GH-expressing and -nonexpressing cell lines and somatic cell hybrids wer...

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) core promoter region, extending approximately from nucleotides -40 to +80 relative to the transcription start site, contains a complex array of putative regulatory elements, including a TATA box, an initiator element, an element between the TATA box and start site, binding sites for LBP/UBP, the TAR element, and others. However, because of this el...

We have converted the TACAAA sequence present at position -29 of the adenovirus EIIa late promoter into a canonical TATA box by oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis. When linear templates were analyzed in nuclear extracts, transcription of the mutant promoter showed a 10-fold higher level of activity than that of the wild-type promoter. This increase was correlated with an increased affinity of...

H1t is a testis-specific histone 1 variant restricted to the male germ line and expressed only in pachytene spermatocytes. Understanding the regulation of the H1t gene is an interesting challenge as its promoter shares all of the recognized control elements of standard somatic H1 genes, yet H1t is not expressed in somatic or in early spermatogenic cells. To investigate the mechanism of this app...

Mammalian promoters are categorized into TATA and CpG-related groups, and they have complementary roles associated with differentiated transcriptional characteristics. While the TATA box is also found in plant promoters, it is not known if CpG-type promoters exist in plants. Plant promoters contain Y Patches (pyrimidine patches) in the core promoter region, and the ubiquity of these beyond high...

The factors and mechanisms underlying the differential activity and regulation of eukaryotic RNA polymerase II on different types of core promoters have remained elusive. Here we show that the architectural factor HMGA1 and the Mediator coregulator complex cooperate to enhance basal transcription from core promoters containing both a TATA box and an Initiator (INR) element but not from "TATA-on...

A single base substitution (A-G) at position -31 within the highly conserved proximal promoter element, the TATA box, was identified in the beta-globin gene cloned from a Japanese woman with beta +-thalassemia. It appears that she is homozygous for this specific allele, as determined by haplotype analysis using seven different polymorphic sites in the beta-globin gene cluster. Transient express...

TFC5, the unique and essential gene encoding the B" component of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RNA polymerase III transcription factor (TF)IIIB has been cloned. It encodes a 594-amino acid protein (67,688 Da). Escherichia coli-produced B" has been used to reconstitute entirely recombinant TFIIIB that is fully functional for TFIIIC-directed, as well as TATA box-dependent, DNA binding and transcri...

Transcription initiation in Archaea requires the assembly of a preinitiation complex containing the TATA- box binding protein (TBP), transcription factor B (TFB), and RNA polymerase (RNAP). The results reported establish the fate of Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus TBP and TFB following transcription initiation by M. thermautotrophicus RNAP in vitro. TFB is released after initiation, duri...