Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026
08:51
Applying an Inducible Expression System to Study Interference of Bacterial Virulence Factors with Intracellular Signaling
Published on: June 25, 2015
Cooperative binding interactions required for function of the Ty1 sterile responsive element
1Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-7260, USA.
Molecular and Cellular Biology
|August 1, 1997
Summary
Researchers identified two proteins, Ste12p and a 72 kDa protein, that bind to the Ty1 sterile response element (SRE). Tec1p is crucial for forming this complex, revealing new combinatorial transcriptional regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Yeast Genetics
- Transcriptional Regulation
Background:
- Ste12p transcription factor regulates mating genes and Ty1 element expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
- Ste12p binding sites are pheromone response elements (PREs).
- Some upstream activating sequences (UASs) require multiple PREs or a PRE combined with another protein's binding site.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the protein-DNA interactions at the Ty1 sterile response element (SRE).
- To elucidate the role of Tec1p in the formation of the Ty1 SRE complex.
- To understand combinatorial transcriptional regulation involving Ste12p.
Main Methods:
- UV cross-linking analysis to identify DNA-binding proteins.
- Characterization of protein-DNA complex formation.
- Biochemical assays to determine protein presence in the complex.
Main Results:
- Two proteins, Ste12p and a ~72 kDa protein, directly bind to the Ty1 SRE.
- Tec1p is essential for the formation of the Ty1 SRE protein-DNA complex.
- Tec1p is physically part of the Ty1 SRE complex.
Conclusions:
- Tec1p plays a direct role in the Ty1 SRE.
- This study reveals a novel mechanism of combinatorial transcriptional regulation involving Ste12p and Tec1p.
- The findings contribute to understanding gene expression control in yeast.
Related Concept Videos
02:02Cis-regulatory Sequences
Cis-regulatory sequences are short fragments of non-coding DNA that are present on the same chromosomes as the genes that they regulate. These fragments serve as binding sites for transcriptional regulators, proteins that are responsible for controlling gene transcription and differential gene expression across cell types in eukaryotes. Cis-regulatory sequences can be close to the gene of interest or thousands of bases away in the DNA sequence; however, those sequences that are further away are...
02:13Cooperative Binding of Transcription Regulators
Transcriptional regulators bind to specific cis-regulatory sequences in the DNA to regulate gene transcription. These cis-regulatory sequences are very short, usually less than ten nucleotide pairs in length. The short length means that there is a high probability of the exact same sequence randomly occurring throughout the genome. Since regulators can also bind to groups of similar sequences, this further increases the chances of random binding. Transcriptional regulators form dimers that...
02:04Co-activators and Co-repressors
Gene transcription is regulated by the synergistic action of several proteins that form a complex at a gene regulatory site. This is observed in eukaryotes, where the regulation of gene expression is a complex process. Regulatory proteins in eukaryotes can broadly be classified into two types – regulators that bind directly to specific DNA sequences and co-regulators that associate with regulatory proteins but cannot directly bind to the DNA. These co-regulators are further divided into...
02:13Cooperative Binding of Transcription Regulators
Transcriptional regulators bind to specific cis-regulatory sequences in the DNA to regulate gene transcription. These cis-regulatory sequences are very short, usually less than ten nucleotide pairs in length. The short length means that there is a high probability of the exact same sequence randomly occurring throughout the genome. Since regulators can also bind to groups of similar sequences, this further increases the chances of random binding. Transcriptional regulators form dimers that...
02:04Co-activators and Co-repressors
Gene transcription is regulated by the synergistic action of several proteins that form a complex at a gene regulatory site. This is observed in eukaryotes, where the regulation of gene expression is a complex process. Regulatory proteins in eukaryotes can broadly be classified into two types – regulators that bind directly to specific DNA sequences and co-regulators that associate with regulatory proteins but cannot directly bind to the DNA. These co-regulators are further divided into...
01:26Receptor Tyrosine Kinases
Receptor tyrosine kinases or RTKs are membrane-bound receptors that phosphorylate specific tyrosine on protein substrates. RTKs regulate cellular growth, differentiation, survival, and migration. They contain an extracellular ligand binding domain, a transmembrane domain, and a cytosolic tail with intrinsic kinase activity. Several extracellular signaling molecules activate RTKs in one or more ways and relay the signal downstream. Ligands such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) or...