PROKARYOTIC MEMBERS OF A NEW FAMILY OF PUTATIVE HELICASES WITH SIMILARITY TO TRANSCRIPTION ACTIVATOR SNF2

Cloning and sequence analysis of a new open reading frame from Bacillus cereus reveals the relationship to a recently identified family of putative eukaryotic transcription activators similar to the yeast SNF2 gene product. As a result of comparative analysis of sequence features conserved in all members of this family, a gene from a chilo iridescent virus, as well as a putative helicase from Escherichia coli (hepA), can also be grouped into this family. The unexpected presence of prokaryotic and viral sequences in the previously purely eukaryotic SNF2 family suggests a defined subgroup of DNA helicases present in all species, with specific function in transcription activation. © 1993 Academic Press, Inc.