Core promoter plasticity between maize tissues and genotypes contrasts with predominance of sharp transcription Initiation sites

Abstract

Gene transcription is regulated by the concerted actions of chromatin structure and sequence-specificDNAbinding proteins, namely, transcription factors that interact with precise cis-regulatory DNA elements in gene control regions. Regulatory information is conveyed, primarily through protein-protein interactions, to the basal transcription machinery consisting of RNA polymerase II (RNP-II) and associated general transcription factors, including the TATA binding protein (TBP) and the TBP-associated factors. The core (or basal) promoter, an ;100-bp region flanking the transcription start site (TSS), is responsible for the assembly of the preinitiation transcription complex and, therefore, for the accurate initiation of transcription (Smale and Kadonaga, 2003; Sandelin et al., 2007; Juven-Gershon and Kadonaga, 2010).