The Human TFIID Components TAF_II135 and TAF_II20 and the Yeast SAGA Components ADA1 and TAF_II68 Heterodimerize to Form Histone-Like Pairs

Abstract

It has been previously proposed that the transcription complexes TFIID and SAGA comprise a histone octamer-like substructure formed from a heterotetramer of H4-like human hTAF_II80 (or itsDrosophila melanogaster dTAF_II60 and yeast [Saccharomyces cerevisiae] yTAF_II60 homologues) and H3-like hTAF_II31 (dTAF_II40 and yTAF_II17) along with two homodimers of H2B-like hTAF_II20 (dTAF_II30α and yTAF_II61/68). However, it has not been formally shown that hTAF_II20 heterodimerizes via its histone fold. By two-hybrid analysis with yeast and biochemical characterization of complexes formed by coexpression in Escherichia coli, we showed that hTAF_II20 does not homodimerize but heterodimerizes with hTAF_II135. Heterodimerization requires the α2 and α3 helices of the hTAF_II20 histone fold and is abolished by mutations in the hydrophobic face of the hTAF_II20 α2 helix. Interaction with hTAF_II20 requires a domain of hTAF_II135 which shows sequence homology to H2A. This domain also shows homology to the yeast SAGA component ADA1, and we show that yADA1 heterodimerizes with the histone fold region of yTAF_II61/68, the yeast hTAF_II20 homologue. These results are indicative of a histone fold type of interaction between hTAF_II20-hTAF_II135 and yTAF_II68-yADA1, which therefore constitute novel histone-like pairs in the TFIID and SAGA complexes.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank S. Hollenberg for the generous gift of yeast strain L40; R. Losson, J. Ortiz, C. Gaudon, and M. Cervino for help with yeast assays and material; M. Abrink and L. Perletti for critical reading of the manuscript; S. Vicaire and D. Stephane for DNA sequencing; the staff of the cell culture and oligonucleotide facilities; and B. Boulay, J. M. Lafontaine, R. Buchert, and C. Werlé for illustrations.

S.W. and C.R. were supported by EMBO fellowships. This work was supported by grants from the CNRS, the INSERM, the Hôpital Universitaire de Strasbourg, the Ministère de la Recherche et de la Technologie, the Association pour la Recherche contre le Cancer, the Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer, and the Human Frontier Science Programme.