Abstract
The core promoter is the DNA sequence that recruits the basal transcription machinery and directs accurate initiation of transcription. It is an active contributor to gene expression that can be rationally designed to manipulate the levels of expression. Core promoter function can be analyzed using different experimental approaches. Here, we describe the qualitative and quantitative analysis of engineered core promoter functions using the EGFP reporter gene that is driven by distinct core promoters. Expression plasmids are transfected into different mammalian cell lines, and the resulting fluorescence is monitored by live cell imaging , as well as by flow cytometry. In order to verify that the transcriptional activity of the examined core promoters is indeed a function of their activity, as opposed to differences in DNA uptake, real-time quantitative PCR analysis is performed. Importantly, the described methodology for functional screening of core promoter activity has enabled the analysis of engineered potent core promoters for extended time periods.
References
Butler JE, Kadonaga JT (2002) The RNA polymerase II core promoter: a key component in the regulation of gene expression. Genes Dev 16:2583–2592
Heintzman ND, Ren B (2007) The gateway to transcription: identifying, characterizing and understanding promoters in the eukaryotic genome. Cell Mol Life Sci 64:386–400
Juven-Gershon T, Hsu J-Y, Theisen JWM, Kadonaga JT (2008) The RNA polymerase II core promoter – the gateway to transcription. Curr Opin Cell Biol 20:253–259
Kadonaga JT (2012) Perspectives on the RNA polymerase II core promoter. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Dev Biol 1:40–51
Lenhard B, Sandelin A, Carninci P (2012) Metazoan promoters: emerging characteristics and insights into transcriptional regulation. Nat Rev Genet 13:233–245
Smale ST (2001) Core promoters: active contributors to combinatorial gene regulation. Genes Dev 15:2503–2508
Smale ST, Kadonaga JT (2003) The RNA polymerase II core promoter. Annu Rev Biochem 72:449–479
Danino YM, Even D, Ideses D, Juven-Gershon T (2015) The core promoter: at the heart of gene expression. Biochim Biophys Acta 1849(8):1116–1131
Thomas MC, Chiang CM (2006) The general transcription machinery and general cofactors. Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol 41:105–178
Muller F, Tora L (2014) Chromatin and DNA sequences in defining promoters for transcription initiation. Biochim Biophys Acta 1839:118–128
Rach EA, Yuan HY, Majoros WH, Tomancak P, Ohler U (2009) Motif composition, conservation and condition-specificity of single and alternative transcription start sites in the Drosophila genome. Genome Biol 10:R73
Roy AL, Singer DS (2015) Core promoters in transcription: old problem, new insights. Trends Biochem Sci 40:165–171
Juven-Gershon T, Cheng S, Kadonaga JT (2006) Rational design of a super core promoter that enhances gene expression. Nat Methods 3:917–922
Even DY, Kedmi A, Basch-Barzilay S, Ideses D, Tikotzki R, Shir-Shapira H, Shefi O, Juven-Gershon T (2016) Engineered promoters for potent transient overexpression. PLoS One 11(3):e0148918
Butler JE, Kadonaga JT (2001) Enhancer-promoter specificity mediated by DPE or TATA core promoter motifs. Genes Dev 15:2515–2519
Emami KH, Navarre WW, Smale ST (1995) Core promoter specificities of the Sp1 and VP16 transcriptional activation domains. Mol Cell Biol 15:5906–5916
Ohtsuki S, Levine M, Cai HN (1998) Different core promoters possess distinct regulatory activities in the Drosophila embryo. Genes Dev 12:547–556
Zabidi MA, Arnold CD, Schernhuber K, Pagani M, Rath M, Frank O, Stark A (2015) Enhancer-core-promoter specificity separates developmental and housekeeping gene regulation. Nature 518:556–559
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Anna Sloutskin for the critical reading of this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media LLC
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Even, D.Y., Kedmi, A., Ideses, D., Juven-Gershon, T. (2017). Functional Screening of Core Promoter Activity. In: Gould, D. (eds) Mammalian Synthetic Promoters. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1651. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7223-4_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7223-4_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-7221-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-7223-4
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols