Cloning of a<i>Drosophila</i>cDNA with sequence similarity to human transcription factor RAP74

Abstract

Factor 5 is a Drosophila RNA polymerase II initiation factor which also affects the elongation phase of transcription (1). Drosophila factor S and its mammalian counterpart, RAP30/74 (also known as TFIIF or ((3y), have similar biochemical properties including: 1) their requirement for initiation, 2) the ability to stimulate elongation, 3) a high affinity for purified RNA polymerase II, 4) similar chromatographic properties, and 5) a similar subunit composition (1-6). Recently, the sequence of a cDNA coding for RAP74 (7) and the large subunit of TFIIF (8) have been reported. We have used the RAP74 cDNA (7) to isolate a Drosophila cDNA with sequence similarity.