A mechanism for TAFs in transcriptional activation: activation domain enhancement of TFIID-TFIIA--promoter DNA complex formation.

TATA-binding protein (TBP)-associated factors (TAFs) in TFIID are required for activator proteins to stimulate transcription, but the mechanism by which TAFs function is poorly understood. To study how TAFs participate in transcriptional activation by the Epstein-Barr virus activator Zta, we used agarose gel electrophoresis and DNase I footprinting to compare transcription complex assembly in reactions with either TFIID or TBP in the presence and absence of wild-type Zta or a deletion of Zta lacking its activation domain. A stable complex of promoter DNA with Zta, TFIIA, and TFIID rapidly formed on a template with Zta-binding sites. Zta stimulation of stable complex formation required TAFs as well as the Zta activation domain and TFIIA. The Zta activation domain also induced a TAF-dependent DNA-protein interaction near and downstream of the transcription star site. Stable complexes formed within 1 min supported activated transcription when RNA polymerase II and the remaining general transcription factors were subsequently added. This rapid assembly of a stable Zta-TFIIA-TFIID-promoter complex is probably a significant component of the mechanism by which TAFs and the Zta activation domain cooperate to stimulate transcription.