Promoter analysis of the Drosophila genes encoding TFIIB and TATA box-binding protein

We have analyzed the 5'-flanking regions of the Drosophila genes encoding the TFIIB and TATA box-binding proteins (TBP) and mapped the regulatory regions required for their efficient expression. We found that the 500 bp long region (-439 to +60) and the 401 bp long region (-261 to +138) are required for the efficient expression of TFIIB and TBP genes, respectively. In the TFIIB promoter region, the upstream DNA between -439 and -280 and the downstream DNA between +8 and +60 are necessary for the stimulation of promoter activity. The upstream DNA between -439 and -280 stimulates transcription in an orientation dependent manner. In the TBP promoter region, the upstream DNA between -261 and -207, and the downstream DNA between +15 and +138 are necessary for the stimulation of promoter activity. The upstream DNA (-261 to -207) required for TBP promoter activity contains a 11 bp long palindromic sequence and a DNA replication-related element sequence. Particularly, we could find that the downstream promoter regions of TFIIB and TBP genes contain the conserved nucleotide sequences, suggesting the presence of a common regulatory mechanism for the expression of these two genes.