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The T protein encoded by Brachyury is a tissue‐specific transcription factor.
Author(s) -
Kispert A.,
Koschorz B.,
Herrmann B. G.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1995.tb00158.x
Subject(s) - brachyury , biology , notochord , mesoderm , transactivation , transcription factor , microbiology and biotechnology , nodal , gene , genetics , embryogenesis , embryonic stem cell
The mouse Brachyury (T) gene is required for differentiation of the notochord and formation of mesoderm during posterior development. Homozygous embryos lacking T activity do not develop a trunk and tail and die in utero. The T gene is specifically expressed in notochord and early mesoderm cells in the embryo. recent data have demonstrated that the T protein is localized in the cell nucleus and specifically binds to a palindrome of 20 bp (the T site) in vitro. We show that the T protein activates expression of a reporter gene in HeLa cells through binding to the T site. Thus T is a novel tissue‐specific transcription factor. It consists of a large N‐terminal DNA binding domain (amino acids 1–229) and two pairs of transactivation and repression domains in the C‐terminal protein half. T can also transactivate transcription through variously oriented and spaced T sites, a fact that may be relevant in the search for genes controlled by T protein and important in mesoderm development.