Identification and characterisation of TATA-less promoter elements in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

• Applicant: Dr. Thomas Gross
• Subject Area: General Genetics and Functional Genome Biology
• Term: from 2010 to 2012
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 189052177

The core promoter of eukaryotic genes is the minimal DNA region required to assemble the general transcription factors in order to direct efficient and accurate transcription initiation. One of the first eukaryotic promoter elements identified was the TATA box, a site for the interaction of TATA-binding protein (TBP). Interestingly, the TATA box is not found in most core promoters, as more than 75% of mammalian and yeast protein-encoding genes use TATA-less promoters. While other core promoter elements have been identified in TATA-less promoters in Drosophila and mammals, the sites and diversity of TATA-less promoters are still poorly understood. The experiments in this proposal will address the regulation of transcription initiation at TATA-less promoters in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In Specific Aim 1 I will screen for novel promoter motifs in TATA-less promoters and characterise those. In parallel, in Specific Aim 2 I will adapt a method for yeast, proteomics of isolated chromatin segments (PICh), to identify proteins bound to regulatory promoter regions in vivo. This proposed research will be of fundamental importance to elucidate the composition and organisation of TATA-less promoters, and to provide new insights how transcription initiation is regulated in vivo. Furthermore, these studies should produce significant new results regarding the regulation of TATA-less genes in higher eukaryotes. Finally, adapting PICh in yeast will provide a significant technological step forward in elucidating factors that act not only at TATA-less promoters, but also at any genomic locus.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Dr. Fred Winston