THE TRANSLATION PRODUCT OF THE PRESUMPTIVE THERMOCOCCUS-CELER TATA-BINDING PROTEIN-SEQUENCE IS A TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR-RELATED IN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION TO METHANOCOCCUS TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR-B

A gene for a putative homolog of TATA-binding protein (TBP) from Thermococcus celer has been expressed in Escherichia coli, and the function of the purified recombinant protein was studied in a Methanococcus-derived cell-free transcription system. Thermococcus TBP can replace archaeal transcription factor B (aTFB) in cell-free transcription reactions. This transcriptional activation is TATA box-dependent and occurs both on tRNA(Val) and protein-encoding genes as templates indicating that Thermococcus TBP is a general transcription factor. Antibodies raised against Thermococcus TBP bind to Methanococcus aTFB and inhibit aTFB activity. These findings demonstrate that Thermococcus TBP (like eucaryal TBPs) can direct specific transcription from TATA boxes.