TATA elements direct bi-directional transcription by RNA polymerases II and III.
Eukaryotic promoter elements specify the direction and efficiency of transcription, as well as the type of RNA polymerase to be used. One such element, the TATA box, is thought to participate in determining the direction of transcription and can function within promoters for RNA polymerase II or III, depending on the sequence context. In this report the ability of four different TATA boxes to support transcription in vitro was determined. It was found that TATA elements are not directional. However, they support transcription by RNA polymerases II and III. An upstream activating sequence was found to stimulate downstream transcription by RNA polymerase II and to inhibit upstream transcription by RNA polymerases II and III. Thus a promoter necessarily consists of a TATA element and upstream sequences in order to specify the direction of transcription and the type of polymerase to be used.
Huang
W
W
Department of Microbiology, University of Vermont, Burlington 05405 USA.
Wong
J M
JM
Bateman
E
E
D000048:Acanthamoeba / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000235:genetics; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012320:RNA Polymerase III / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016385:TATA Box; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D017931:DNA Primers; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D012319:RNA Polymerase II; D012320:RNA Polymerase III