Mapping the transcription repressive domain in the highly conserved human gene

Abstract

HNULP1, a new member of the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, contains a DUF654 domain in its C-terminus and is highly conserved from Drosophilae, yeast, zebrafish to mouse. The function of this motif, however, is currently unknown. In this research, we fused five deletion fragments of the DUF654 domain to the GAL4 DNA-binding domain and then co-transfected with plasmids L8G5-Luc and VP-16. The analysis of the GAL4 luciferase reporter gene indicated that fragments from 228 to 407 amino acids in the DUF654 domain had a strong transcription repression activity. Therefore, this study lays a solid foundation for research on the mechanism of hnulp1 transcriptional regulation and the function of the DUF654 domain.

Keywords

DUF654 / luciferase reporter gene / transcriptional activity / hnulp1