Modeling transcriptional regulation using microinjection into Xenopus oocytes

Transcriptional regulation is a complex process that requires cooperation between specific DNA sequence elements, the DNA-binding proteins that bind to these sequences, the general transcriptional machinery, and chromatin. Oocyte microinjection offers a technique to study the integrated transcription process while still providing the opportunity to experimentally perturb this process. We describe here techniques for manipulating DNA templates and the protein complement of the oocyte to study multiple facets of transcriptional regulation. We present sample results showing that the GAL4-VP16 fusion activator is sensitive to distance in constructs containing only a minimal promoter, but can activate transcription at greater distances when proximal promoter elements are present.