Bending of DNA in solution caused by a protein from Arabidopsis that binds to a TATA element.

The TFIID complex, which is a general transcription factor, helps to activate and regulate the transcription associated with eukaryotic promoters. A TATA element-binding protein (TBP), a central subunit of the TFIID complex, binds to TATA elements. Circular permutation analysis showed that purified recombinant TBP-1 from Arabidopsis (aTBP-1) introduced a bend in DNA around a TATA element in DNA fragments in solution. The bending was a slow process. A bend in DNA caused by a TBP-1 was seen under an electron microscope, as was an aTBP-DNA complex after immunochemical staining.