Functional binding of the "TATA" box binding component of transcription factor TFIID to the -30 region of TATA-less promoters.

Many viral and cellular promoters transcribed in higher eukaryotes by RNA polymerase II lack obvious A+T-rich sequences, called "TATA" boxes, that bind the transcription factor TFIID. One such TATA-less promoter, the simian virus 40 major late promoter, contains a genetically important sequence element 30 base pairs upstream of its transcription initiation site that has no obvious sequence similarity to a TATA box. We show here that the cloned human TATA box-binding protein, hTFIID tau, functionally binds to this upstream sequence element, although with an affinity one-sixth of that to which it binds the TATA box of the adenovirus type 2 major late promoter. Analysis of point mutations in the -30 element of the simian virus 40 major late promoter shows that the affinity of binding correlates with the efficiency of transcription from this promoter. Furthermore, this element has genetic properties similar to those of a TATA box. (i) It directs RNA polymerase II to initiate transcription approximately 30 base pairs downstream of its location, and (ii) inactivation of this element results in increased heterogeneity in the sites of transcription initiation. All of five other TATA-less promoters tested were found to contain a sequence approximately 30 base pairs upstream of their major transcription initiation sites to which hTFIID tau binds. We conclude that many, if not all, TATA-less promoters differ from TATA box-containing promoters simply in the affinity of their -30 regions for binding of TFIID, with functional binding of TFIID supported in part by other nearby sequence elements of the promoter.