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Control of transcription by Krüppel through interactions with TFIIB and TFIIEβ

Nature volume 375, pages 162–164 (1995)Cite this article

Abstract

THE zinc-finger protein Krüppel (Kr)1 is an integral part of the Drosophila segmentation gene cascade2 and is essential in organo-genesis during later embryonic development3. In tissue culture, Kr regulates transcription4–9. Monomeric Kr can act as a transcrip-tional activator, whereas Kr dimers formed at high concentrations cause repression6. Here we show that Kr-dependent control of transcription involves functional interactions with components of the basal RNA polymerase II transcription machinery, which includes the initiation factors TFIIA, B, E, F, H and I (refs 10,11) as well as the TATA-binding protein (TBP) and TBP-associated factors (TAFs) contained in the multisubunit TFIID (ref. 12). Our results indicate that when acting from a site close to a basal promoter, monomeric Kr interacts with TFIIB to activate transcription, whereas an interaction of the Kr dimer with TFIIEβ, a subunit of TFIIE, results in transcriptional repression.

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Author notes

  1. Frank Sauer

    Present address: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Abteilung Molekulare Entwicklungsbiologie, Max-Planck-lnstitut für Biophysikalische Chemie, Am Fassberg, D-37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Frank Sauer & Herbert Jäckle

  2. Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, 10021, USA

    Joseph D. Fondell, Yoshiaki Ohkuma & Robert G. Roeder

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  1. Frank Sauer
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  2. Joseph D. Fondell
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  3. Yoshiaki Ohkuma
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  4. Robert G. Roeder
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  5. Herbert Jäckle
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Sauer, F., Fondell, J., Ohkuma, Y. et al. Control of transcription by Krüppel through interactions with TFIIB and TFIIEβ. Nature 375, 162–164 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/375162a0

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