title: Transcriptional activation domains of the Candida albicans Gcn4p and Gal4p homologs.
abstract: Many putative transcription factors in the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans contain sequence similarity to well-defined transcriptional regulators in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but this sequence similarity is often limited to the DNA binding domains of the molecules. The Gcn4p and Gal4p proteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are highly studied and well-understood eukaryotic transcription factors of the basic leucine zipper (Gcn4p) and C(6) zinc cluster (Gal4p) families; C. albicans has C. albicans Gcn4p (CaGcn4p) and CaGal4p with DNA binding domains highly similar to their S. cerevisiae counterparts. Deletion analysis of the CaGcn4p protein shows that the N' terminus is needed for transcriptional activation; an 81-amino-acid region is critical for this function, and this domain can be coupled to a lexA DNA binding module to provide transcription-activating function in a heterologous reporter system. Deletion analysis of the C. albicans Gal4p identifies a C-terminal 73-amino-acid-long transcription-activating domain that also can be transferred to a heterologous reporter construct to direct transcriptional activation. These two transcriptional activation regions show no sequence similarity to the respective domains in their S. cerevisiae homologs, and the two C. albicans transcription-activating domains themselves show little similarity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, McGill University, Stewart Biology Building, 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1B1.
authors.forename: Mikhail
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martchenko
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Levitin
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Whiteway
mesh_terms: D050976:Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D050976:Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; C052130:GAL4 protein, S cerevisiae; C501391:GCN4 protein, S cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors