title: Plant class B HSFs inhibit transcription and exhibit affinity for TFIIB and TBP.
abstract: Plant heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) are capable of transcriptional activation (class A HSFs) or both, activation and repression (class B HSFs). However, the details of mechanism still remain unclear. It is likely, that the regulation occurs through interactions of HSFs with general transcription factors (GTFs), as has been described for numerous other transcription factors. Here, we show that class A HSFs may activate transcription through direct contacts with TATA-binding protein (TBP). Class A HSFs can also interact weakly with TFIIB. Conversely, class B HSFs inhibit promoter activity through an active mechanism of repression that involves the C-terminal regulatory region (CTR) of class B HSFs. Deletion analysis revealed two sites in the CTR of soybean GmHSFB1 potentially involved in protein-protein interactions with GTFs: one is the repressor domain (RD) located in the N-terminal half of the CTR, and the other is a TFIIB binding domain (BD) that shows affinity for TFIIB and is located C-terminally from the RD. A Gal4 DNA binding domain-RD fusion repressed activity of LexA-activators, while Gal4-BD proteins synergistically activated strong and weak transcriptional activators. In vitro binding studies were consistent with this pattern of activity since the BD region alone interacted strongly with TFIIB, and the presence of RD had an inhibitory effect on TFIIB binding and transcriptional activation.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Cell Science Department, Program of Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Florida, Bldg. 981, Gainesville, FL 32611-0700, USA. evaczar@ufl.edu
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Czarnecka-Verner
authors.forename: Songqin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Tarek
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Salem
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Gurley
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000235:genetics; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D005966:Glucuronidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000076249:Heat Shock Transcription Factors; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010940:Plant Proteins; D011485:Protein Binding; D011523:Protoplasts / Q000378:metabolism; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D035181:TATA-Box Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics; D035581:Transcription Factor TFIIB / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D000076249:Heat Shock Transcription Factors; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D035181:TATA-Box Binding Protein; D035581:Transcription Factor TFIIB; D014157:Transcription Factors; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D005966:Glucuronidase