Journal of Virology · 1999 · 31 citations · 57 references
Life SciencesBiologyMolecular BiologyGene ExpressionMolecular VirologyVirologyPromoter RegulationViral Gene ExpressionViral Genome OrganizationViral Regulatory ElementsViral TranscriptionVirus Genome OrganizationHerpesvirus TranscriptionTata-binding Protein FunctionTranscriptional Activation DomainsTranscriptional Regulation In VirusesViral Gene Expression RegulationViral Promoter ActivationViral Transcription FactorsViral Transcriptional Regulation
The herpesvirus saimiri open reading frame (ORF) 50 produces two transcripts. The first is spliced, contains a single intron, and is detected at early times during the productive cycle, whereas the second is expressed later and is produced from a promoter within the second exon. Analysis of their gene products has shown that they function as sequence specific transactivators. In this report, we demonstrate that the carboxy terminus of ORF 50b contains an activation domain which is essential for transactivation. This domain contains positionally conserved hydrophobic residues found in a number of activation domains, including the herpes simplex virus VP16 and the Epstein-Barr virus R proteins. Mutational analysis of this domain demonstrates that these conserved hydrophobic residues are essential for ORF 50 transactivation capability. Furthermore, this domain is required for the interaction between the ORF 50 proteins and the basal transcription factor TATA-binding protein.
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