Promoter analysis of the Drosophila melanogaster gene encoding transcription elongation factor TFIIS

Abstract

The promoter region of the Drosophila melanogaster TFIIS gene was characterized by transient expression assay. Serial deletion analysis of the promoter region showed that the promoter region between −112 and +113 is required for the efficient expression of the D. melanogaster TFIIS gene. The results also suggest that the DNA fragments between −112 and −54 and between +94 and +113 contain the vital elements for the expression. The importance of these fragments was further substantiated by the findings that the sequences in these fragments of the D. melanogaster TFIIS gene are conserved in the 5′-flanking regions of the Drosophila virilis TFIIS gene. The comparison of the nucleotide sequences in the 5′-flanking region of the D. melanogaster and D. virilis TFIIS genes revealed that the three regions, −85–−59, +76–+126, and the vicinity of the transcription initiation site of the D. melanogaster TFIIS gene, are conserved. It is very interesting that the long downstream DNA between +76 and +126 is highly conserved with 90% identities between the two species. The downstream promoter region between +94 and +113 of the D. melanogaster TFIIS gene was further analyzed by transient expression and band mobility shift assays. The results obtained suggest that the region between +94 and +113 is probably recognized by nuclear factors and that the sequence +98AGTAAACAACAT +109 seems to make a great contribution to promoter activity of the D. melanogaster TFIIS gene.