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An enhancer-like sequence within the Xenopus U2 gene promoter facilitates the formation of stable transcription complexes

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Abstract

Enhancers are eukaryotic promoter elements that increase tran-scriptional efficiency in a manner relatively independent of their position and orientation with respect to a nearby gene1–3. There is growing evidence that enhancer action is mediated by transacting factors4–8, but the mode of action of these factors is not yet known. We report here on the Xenopus U2 gene promoter, which contains two sequence elements. The distal sequence element increases promoter activity 20-fold by facilitating the formation of stable transcription complexes. A synthetic 14-base-pair (bp) oligonucleotide corresponding to part of the distal sequence element, which shows homology to an immunoglobulin gene promoter element and to both the simian virus 40 (SV40) and the immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene enhancers, stimulates transcription in an orientation-independent manner.

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Author notes

  1. Josef Jiricny: Friedrich Miescher Institut, PO Box 2543, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biocenter, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 70, CH-4056, Basel, Switzerland

    Iain W. Mattaj, Susanne Lienhard, Josef Jiricny & Eddy M. De Robertis

Authors
  1. Iain W. Mattaj
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  2. Susanne Lienhard
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  3. Josef Jiricny
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  4. Eddy M. De Robertis
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Mattaj, I., Lienhard, S., Jiricny, J. et al. An enhancer-like sequence within the Xenopus U2 gene promoter facilitates the formation of stable transcription complexes. Nature 316, 163–167 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/316163a0

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