A DNA-binding protein from Candida albicans that binds to the RPG box of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the telomeric repeat sequence of C. albicans.

Electromobility shift assays with a DNA probe containing the Saccharomyces cerevisiae ENO1 RPG box identified a specific DNA-binding protein in total protein extracts of Candida albicans. The protein, named Rbf1p (RPG-box-binding protein 1), bound to other S. cerevisiae RPG boxes, although the nucleotide recognition profile was not completely the same as that of S. cerevisiae Rap 1p (repressor-activator protein 1), an RPG-box-binding protein. The repetitive sequence of the C. albicans chromosomal telomere also competed with RPG-box binding to Rbf1p. For further analysis, we purified Rbf1p 57,600-fold from C. albicans total protein extracts, raised mAbs against the purified protein and immunologically cloned the gene, whose ORF specified a protein of 527 aa. The bacterially expressed protein showed RPG-box-binding activity with the same profile as that of the purified one. The Rbf1p, containing two glutamine-rich regions that are found in many transcription factors, showed transcriptional activation capability in S. cerevisiae and was predominantly observed in nuclei. These results suggest that Rbf1p is a transcription factor with telomere-binding activity in C. albicans.