Promoter selection in human mitochondria involves binding of a transcription factor to orientation-independent upstream regulatory elements.
Selective transcription of human mitochondrial DNA requires a transcription factor (mtTF) in addition to an essentially nonselective RNA polymerase. Partially purified mtTF is able to sequester promoter-containing DNA in preinitiation complexes in the absence of mitochondrial RNA polymerase, suggesting a DNA-binding mechanism for factor activity. Functional domains, required for positive transcriptional regulation by mtTF, are identified within both major promoters of human mtDNA through transcription of mutant promoter templates in a reconstituted in vitro system. These domains are essentially coextensive with DNA sequences protected from nuclease digestion by mtTF-binding. Comparison of the sequences of the two mtTF-responsive elements reveals significant homology only when one sequence is inverted; the binding sites are in opposite orientations with respect to the predominant direction of transcription. Thus mtTF may function bidirectionally, requiring additional protein-DNA interactions to dictate transcriptional polarity. The mtTF-responsive elements are arrayed as direct repeats, separated by approximately 80 bp within the displacement-loop region of human mitochondrial DNA; this arrangement may reflect duplication of an ancestral bidirectional promoter, giving rise to separate, unidirectional promoters for each strand.
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism; D005809:Genes, Regulator; D006801:Humans; D007624:KB Cells; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D013698:Templates, Genetic; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D014157:Transcription Factors; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases