Abstract
THE general transcription factor TFIIE has an essential role in eukaryotic transcription initiation together with RNA polymerase II and other general factors1,2. Human TFIIE consists of two subunits of relative molecular mass 57,000 (TFIIE-α) and 34,000 (TFIIE-β)3–5 and joins the preinitiation complex after RNA polymerase II and TFIIF (ref. 5). Here we report the cloning and structure of a complementary DNA encoding a functional human TFIIE-α. TFIIE-α is necessary for transcription initiation together with TFIIE-β, and recombinant TFIIE-α can fully replace the natural subunit in an in vitro transcription assay. The sequence contains several interesting structural motifs6 (leucine repeat, zinc finger and helix-turn-helix) and sequence similarities to bacterial a factors that suggest direct involvement in the regulation of transcription initiation.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Saltzman, A. G. & Weinmann, R. FASEB J. 3, 1723–1733 (1989).
Sawadogo, M. & Sentenac, A. A. Rev. Biochem. 59, 711–754 (1990).
Ohkuma, Y., Sumimoto, H., Horikoshi, M. & Roeder, R. G. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 9163–9167 (1990).
Conaway, J. W., Hanley, J., Garrett, K. P. & Conaway, R. C. J. biol. Chem. 266, 7804–7811 (1991).
Inostroza, J., Flores, O. & Reinberg, D. J. biol. Chem. 266, 9304–9308 (1991).
Johnson, P. F. & McKnight, S. L. A. Rev. Biochem. 58, 799–839 (1989).
Hirata, M. et al. Nature 349, 617–620 (1991).
Scheidereit, C. et al. Nature 336, 551–557 (1988).
Sawadogo, M. & Roeder, R. G. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82, 4394–4398 (1985).
Horikoshi, M., Yamamoto, T., Ohkuma, Y., Weil, P. A. & Roeder R. G. Cell 61, 1171–1178 (1990).
Studier, F. W., Rosenberg, A. H., Dunn, J. J. & Dubendorff, J. W. Meth. Enzym. 185, 60–89 (1990).
Malik, S. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. (in the press).
Sumimoto, H., Ohkuma, Y., Yamamoto, T., Horikoshi, M. & Roeder, R. G. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 9158–9162 (1990).
Helmann, J. D. & Chamberlin, M. J. A. Rev. Biochem. 57, 839–872 (1988).
McCracken, S. & Greenblatt, J. Science 253, 900–902 (1991).
Flores, O., Maldonado, E. & Reinberg, D. J. biol. Chem. 264, 8913–8921 (1989).
Miller, J., McLachlan, A. D. & Klug, A. EMBO J. 4, 1609–1614 (1985).
Rosenberg, U. B. et al. Nature 319, 336–339 (1986).
Hirashima, S., Hirai, H., Nakanishi, Y. & Natori, S. J. biol. Chem. 263, 3858–3363 (1988).
Allison, L. A., Moyle, M., Shales, M. & Ingles, C. J. Cell 42, 599–610 (1985).
Broyles, S. S. & Moss, B. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 3141–3145 (1986).
Ollis, D. L., Brick, P., Hamlin, R., Xuong, N. G. & Steiz, T. A. Nature 313, 762–766 (1985).
Ptashne, M. Nature 335, 683–689 (1988).
Sumimoto, H. et al. Nature 354, 401–404 (1991).
Horikoshi, M., Carey, M. F., Kakidani, H. & Roeder, R. G. Cell 54, 665–669 (1988).
Horikoshi, M. et al. Nature 341, 299–303 (1989).
Lin, Y.-S. & Green, M. R. Cell 64, 971–981 (1991).
Woychik, N. A. & Young, R. A. Trends biol. Sci. 15, 347–351 (1990).
Kozak, M. Cell 44, 283–292 (1986).
Hoffmann, A. et al. Nature 346, 387–390 (1990).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ohkuma, Y., Sumimoto, H., Hoffmann, A. et al. Structural motifs and potential a homologies in the large subunit of human general transcription factor TFIIE. Nature 354, 398–401 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/354398a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/354398a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.