title: Cloning and properties of the Caenorhabditis elegans TATA-box-binding protein.
abstract: The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has become an organism of choice for the study of developmental processes at the genetic level. We have undertaken to develop an in vitro system to study transcription in C. elegans. As a first step we report here the cloning of the cDNA encoding the C. elegans TATA-box-binding protein (CeTBP). We used "touch-down PCR" to generate a specific DNA probe derived from the C-terminal region conserved in all TBP genes cloned to date. Several clones encoding an extended open reading frame were isolated from a phage lambda cDNA library. The complete amino acid sequence of CeTBP deduced from the cDNA reveals a protein of 37 kDa with an extended sequence similarity in the C-terminal region with all other TBP cDNAs sequenced so far. The N-terminal region of CeTBP (amino acids 1-153), however, does not show any homology with TBPs from other organisms. Interestingly, the N-terminal portion of the molecule contains three short direct repeats. Purified recombinant CeTBP binds specifically to the TATA box sequence, interacts with transcription factors TFIIA and TFIIB, and is able to substitute for the TFIID basal activity when assayed by in vitro transcription in both HeLa and C. elegans nuclear extracts. CeTBP is therefore a basal transcription factor.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lichtsteiner
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tjian
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D016385:TATA Box; D035181:TATA-Box Binding Protein; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D035181:TATA-Box Binding Protein; D014157:Transcription Factors