Symbol TAF Pfam clan CL0012 SMART TAFH | Pfam PF02969 InterPro IPR004823 SCOP 1bh9 | |
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In molecular biology, TAF refers to a protein named the TATA box binding protein associated factor. TAF is part of the transcription initiation factor TFIID multimeric protein complex, or in simpler terms, the Pre-initiation complex (PIC). TAF forms part of Transcription factor II D (TFIID) and the TATA-binding protein (TBP). They mediate transcription of DNA to RNA by RNA PolymeraseRNA polymerase II. This entry discusses the N-terminal domain in particular.
Contents
TFIID
TFIID plays a central role in mediating promoter responses to various activators and repressors. It binds tightly to TAFII-250 and directly interacts with TAFII-40. TFIID is composed of TATA binding protein (TBP)and a number of TBP-associated factors (TAFS). TAF proteins adopt a histone-like fold.
TAF function
There are several functions of TAF in its role as part of the TFIID complex, their function is to interact with the following
Due to such interactions, they therefore contribute transcription activation and to promoter selectivity.
TAF structure
The N-terminal domain of TAF has a histone-like protein fold. It contains two short alpha helices and a long central alpha helix.