The TFIID Components Human TAFII140 andDrosophila BIP2 (TAFII155) Are Novel Metazoan Homologues of Yeast TAFII47 Containing a Histone Fold and a PHD Finger

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Abstract
The RNA polymerase II transcription factor TFIID comprises the TATA binding protein (TBP) and a set of TBP-associated factors (TAFIIs). TFIID has been extensively characterized for yeast, Drosophila, and humans, demonstrating a high degree of conservation of both the amino acid sequences of the constituent TAFIIs and overall molecular organization. In recent years, it has been assumed that all the metazoan TAFIIs have been identified, yet no metazoan homologues of yeast TAFII47 (yTAFII47) and yTAFII65 are known. Both of these yTAFIIs contain a histone fold domain (HFD) which selectively heterodimerizes with that of yTAFII25. We have cloned a novel mouse protein, TAFII140, containing an HFD and a plant homeodomain (PHD) finger, which we demonstrated by immunoprecipitation to be a mammalian TFIID component. TAFII140 shows extensive sequence similarity toDrosophila BIP2 (dBIP2) (dTAFII155), which we also show to be a component of DrosophilaTFIID. These proteins are metazoan homologues of yTAFII47 as their HFDs selectively heterodimerize with dTAFII24 and human TAFII30, metazoan homologues of yTAFII25. We further show that yTAFII65 shares two domains with theDrosophila Prodos protein, a recently described potential dTAFII. These conserved domains are critical for yTAFII65 function in vivo. Our results therefore identify metazoan homologues of yTAFII47 and yTAFII65.