The JUN oncoprotein, a vertebrate transcription factor, activates transcription in yeast (original) (raw)

Nature volume 332, pages 649–650 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

Transcriptional activation of RNA polymerase II in eukaryotic organisms ranging from yeasts to mammals has many common features such as enhancer elements, TATA elements, and activator proteins that bind specifically to promoter DNA (reviewed in refs (1, 2). The JUN oncoprotein, which causes sarcomas in chickens3, shows significant homology to the DNA-binding domain of GCN4, a yeast protein that stimulates transcription of the amino acid biosynthetic genes4. The GCN4 and JUN proteins bind the same DNA sequences5, consensus ATGA(C/G)TCAT (ref. 6), even though the DNA-binding domains are only 45% identical in amino acid sequence. The JUN protein almost certainly represents the oncogenic version of the normal AP-1 transcription factor7, sug-gesting an evolutionary relationship between yeast and vertebrate activator proteins. Here, I demonstrate that JUN efficiently activates transcription in yeast either through its own or a heterologous DNA-binding domain. As is the case for yeast activator proteins, transcriptional stimulation by JUN requires an acidic activation region distinct from the DNA-binding domain. The functional interchangeability between yeast and vertebrate transcription factors strongly suggests a basic similarity in the molecular mechanism of eukaryotic transcriptional activation.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

$199.00 per year

only $3.90 per issue

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Additional access options:

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Struhl, K. Cell 49, 295–297 (1987).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  2. McKnight, S. L. & Tjian, R. Cell 46, 795–805 (1986).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  3. Maki, Y., Bos, T. J., Davis, C., Starbuck, M., & Vogt, P. K. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84, 2848–2852 (1987).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  4. Vogt, P. K., Bos, T. J., & Dooliltle, R. F. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84, 3316–3319 (1987).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  5. Struhl, K. Cell 50, 841–846 (1987).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  6. Hill, D. E., Hope, I. A., Macke, J. P. & Struhl, K. Science 234, 451–457 (1986).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  7. Bohmann, D., Bos, T. J., Admon, A., Nishimura, T., Vogt, P. K. & Tjian, R. Science 238, 1386–1392 (1987).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  8. Hope, I. A. & Struhl, K. Cell 43, 177–188 (1985).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  9. Arndt, K. & Fink, G. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 8516–8520 (1986).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  10. Hope, I. A. & Struhl, K. EMBO J. 6, 2781–2784 (1987).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  11. Hope, I. A. & Struhl, K. Cell 46, 885–894 (1986).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  12. Ma, J. & Ptashne, M. Cell 48, 847–853 (1987).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  13. Ma, J. & Ptashne, M. Cell 51, 113–139 (1987).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  14. Brent, R. & Ptashne, M. Cell 43, 729–736 (1985).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  15. Chen, W., Tabor, S. & Struhl, K. Cell 50, 1047–1055 (1987).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  16. Kakidani, H. & Ptashne, M. Cell 52, 161–167 (1988).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  17. Webster, N., Jin, K. R., Green, S., Hollis, M. & Chambon, P. Cell 52, 16
  18. Lech, K., Anderson, K. & Brent, R. Cell 52, 179–184 (1988).
    Article CAS Google Scholar

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Chemistry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA
    Kevin Struhl

Authors

  1. Kevin Struhl
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Struhl, K. The JUN oncoprotein, a vertebrate transcription factor, activates transcription in yeast.Nature 332, 649–650 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/332649a0

Download citation

This article is cited by