Skip to main content
Journal of Virology logoLink to Journal of Virology
. 1993 Dec;67(12):7332–7339. doi: 10.1128/jvi.67.12.7332-7339.1993

Individual repeats of Drosophila Myb can function in transformation by v-Myb.

X Bin 1, J S Lipsick 1
PMCID: PMC238197  PMID: 8230457

Abstract

The v-Myb protein binds to specific DNA sequences and can regulate gene expression. The DNA-binding domain of v-Myb contains the second and third of the three highly conserved tandem repeats found in c-Myb. In general, the ability of mutant forms of v-Myb to transform correlates with their ability to trans activate transcription. Two mutations within the DNA-binding domain of v-Myb which preserve DNA binding in vitro but fail to trans activate or transform have been described. These results suggested that this highly conserved domain might function in specific protein-protein interactions, as well as in DNA binding. We therefore tested the ability of a related protein domain from Drosophila melanogaster to substitute functionally for the homologous region of v-Myb. We found that either the second or third repeat of Drosophila Myb, but not both, could function in trans-activation and transformation by v-Myb. The hybrid containing both the second and third repeats of Drosophila Myb bound to DNA but failed to trans activate transcription either in the context of v-Myb or as a v-Myb-VP16 fusion protein. These results demonstrate that although the protein-DNA contacts made by the Myb repeats have been conserved during the evolution of animals, the protein-protein interactions have diverged.

Full text

PDF
7332

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Biedenkapp H., Borgmeyer U., Sippel A. E., Klempnauer K. H. Viral myb oncogene encodes a sequence-specific DNA-binding activity. Nature. 1988 Oct 27;335(6193):835–837. doi: 10.1038/335835a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Boyle W. J., Lampert M. A., Lipsick J. S., Baluda M. A. Avian myeloblastosis virus and E26 virus oncogene products are nuclear proteins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 Jul;81(14):4265–4269. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.14.4265. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Carr M. D., Mott R. F. The transcriptional control proteins c-Myb and v-Myb contain a basic region DNA binding motif. FEBS Lett. 1991 May 6;282(2):293–294. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(91)80498-r. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Chen C., Okayama H. High-efficiency transformation of mammalian cells by plasmid DNA. Mol Cell Biol. 1987 Aug;7(8):2745–2752. doi: 10.1128/mcb.7.8.2745. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Chen R. H., Lipsick J. S. Differential transcriptional activation by v-myb and c-myb in animal cells and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Cell Biol. 1993 Jul;13(7):4423–4431. doi: 10.1128/mcb.13.7.4423. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dini P. W., Lipsick J. S. Oncogenic truncation of the first repeat of c-Myb decreases DNA binding in vitro and in vivo. Mol Cell Biol. 1993 Dec;13(12):7334–7348. doi: 10.1128/mcb.13.12.7334. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Evan G. I., Lewis G. K., Bishop J. M. Isolation of monoclonal antibodies specific for products of avian oncogene myb. Mol Cell Biol. 1984 Dec;4(12):2843–2850. doi: 10.1128/mcb.4.12.2843. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Frampton J., Gibson T. J., Ness S. A., Döderlein G., Graf T. Proposed structure for the DNA-binding domain of the Myb oncoprotein based on model building and mutational analysis. Protein Eng. 1991 Dec;4(8):891–901. doi: 10.1093/protein/4.8.891. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Garcia A., LaMontagne K., Reavis D., Stober-Grässer U., Lipsick J. S. Determinants of sequence-specific DNA-binding by p48v-myb. Oncogene. 1991 Feb;6(2):265–273. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Garrido C., Leprince D., Lipsick J. S., Stehelin D., Gospodarowicz D., Saule S. Definition of functional domains in P135gag-myb-ets and p48v-myb proteins required to maintain the response of neuroretina cells to basic fibroblast growth factor. J Virol. 1992 Jan;66(1):160–166. doi: 10.1128/jvi.66.1.160-166.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Gerondakis S., Bishop J. M. Structure of the protein encoded by the chicken proto-oncogene c-myb. Mol Cell Biol. 1986 Nov;6(11):3677–3684. doi: 10.1128/mcb.6.11.3677. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Goff S. A., Cone K. C., Chandler V. L. Functional analysis of the transcriptional activator encoded by the maize B gene: evidence for a direct functional interaction between two classes of regulatory proteins. Genes Dev. 1992 May;6(5):864–875. doi: 10.1101/gad.6.5.864. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Gonda T. J., Buckmaster C., Ramsay R. G. Activation of c-myb by carboxy-terminal truncation: relationship to transformation of murine haemopoietic cells in vitro. EMBO J. 1989 Jun;8(6):1777–1783. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03571.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Gonda T. J., Gough N. M., Dunn A. R., de Blaquiere J. Nucleotide sequence of cDNA clones of the murine myb proto-oncogene. EMBO J. 1985 Aug;4(8):2003–2008. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1985.tb03884.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Grässer F. A., Graf T., Lipsick J. S. Protein truncation is required for the activation of the c-myb proto-oncogene. Mol Cell Biol. 1991 Aug;11(8):3987–3996. doi: 10.1128/mcb.11.8.3987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Grässer F. A., LaMontagne K., Whittaker L., Stohr S., Lipsick J. S. A highly conserved cysteine in the v-Myb DNA-binding domain is essential for transformation and transcriptional trans-activation. Oncogene. 1992 May;7(5):1005–1009. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Ibanez C. E., Garcia A., Stober-Grässer U., Lipsick J. S. DNA-binding activity associated with the v-myb oncogene product is not sufficient for transformation. J Virol. 1988 Nov;62(11):4398–4402. doi: 10.1128/jvi.62.11.4398-4402.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Ibanez C. E., Lipsick J. S. Structural and functional domains of the myb oncogene: requirements for nuclear transport, myeloid transformation, and colony formation. J Virol. 1988 Jun;62(6):1981–1988. doi: 10.1128/jvi.62.6.1981-1988.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Ibanez C. E., Lipsick J. S. trans activation of gene expression by v-myb. Mol Cell Biol. 1990 May;10(5):2285–2293. doi: 10.1128/mcb.10.5.2285. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Kalkbrenner F., Guehmann S., Moelling K. Transcriptional activation by human c-myb and v-myb genes. Oncogene. 1990 May;5(5):657–661. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Katzen A. L., Kornberg T. B., Bishop J. M. Isolation of the proto-oncogene c-myb from D. melanogaster. Cell. 1985 Jun;41(2):449–456. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(85)80018-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Klempnauer K. H. Methylation-sensitive DNA binding by v-myb and c-myb proteins. Oncogene. 1993 Jan;8(1):111–115. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Klempnauer K. H., Sippel A. E. The highly conserved amino-terminal region of the protein encoded by the v-myb oncogene functions as a DNA-binding domain. EMBO J. 1987 Sep;6(9):2719–2725. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02565.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Klempnauer K. H., Symonds G., Evan G. I., Bishop J. M. Subcellular localization of proteins encoded by oncogenes of avian myeloblastosis virus and avian leukemia virus E26 and by chicken c-myb gene. Cell. 1984 Jun;37(2):537–547. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90384-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Kunkel T. A., Roberts J. D., Zakour R. A. Rapid and efficient site-specific mutagenesis without phenotypic selection. Methods Enzymol. 1987;154:367–382. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(87)54085-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Lane T., Ibanez C., Garcia A., Graf T., Lipsick J. Transformation by v-myb correlates with trans-activation of gene expression. Mol Cell Biol. 1990 Jun;10(6):2591–2598. doi: 10.1128/mcb.10.6.2591. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Lipsick J. S., Ibanez C. E., Baluda M. A. Expression of molecular clones of v-myb in avian and mammalian cells independently of transformation. J Virol. 1986 Aug;59(2):267–275. doi: 10.1128/jvi.59.2.267-275.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Lipsick J. S., Ibanez C. E. env-encoded residues are not required for transformation by p48v-myb. J Virol. 1987 Mar;61(3):933–936. doi: 10.1128/jvi.61.3.933-936.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Liu J. L., Klein P. A., Moscovici M. G., Moscovici C. Monoclonal antibodies recognizing normal and retrovirus-transformed chicken hematopoietic cells. Virology. 1992 Aug;189(2):583–591. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(92)90581-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Mendel D. B., Khavari P. A., Conley P. B., Graves M. K., Hansen L. P., Admon A., Crabtree G. R. Characterization of a cofactor that regulates dimerization of a mammalian homeodomain protein. Science. 1991 Dec 20;254(5039):1762–1767. doi: 10.1126/science.1763325. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Ness S. A., Kowenz-Leutz E., Casini T., Graf T., Leutz A. Myb and NF-M: combinatorial activators of myeloid genes in heterologous cell types. Genes Dev. 1993 May;7(5):749–759. doi: 10.1101/gad.7.5.749. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Ness S. A., Marknell A., Graf T. The v-myb oncogene product binds to and activates the promyelocyte-specific mim-1 gene. Cell. 1989 Dec 22;59(6):1115–1125. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90767-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Ogata K., Hojo H., Aimoto S., Nakai T., Nakamura H., Sarai A., Ishii S., Nishimura Y. Solution structure of a DNA-binding unit of Myb: a helix-turn-helix-related motif with conserved tryptophans forming a hydrophobic core. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Jul 15;89(14):6428–6432. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.14.6428. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Paz-Ares J., Ghosal D., Wienand U., Peterson P. A., Saedler H. The regulatory c1 locus of Zea mays encodes a protein with homology to myb proto-oncogene products and with structural similarities to transcriptional activators. EMBO J. 1987 Dec 1;6(12):3553–3558. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02684.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Peters C. W., Sippel A. E., Vingron M., Klempnauer K. H. Drosophila and vertebrate myb proteins share two conserved regions, one of which functions as a DNA-binding domain. EMBO J. 1987 Oct;6(10):3085–3090. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02616.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Ptashne M. How eukaryotic transcriptional activators work. Nature. 1988 Oct 20;335(6192):683–689. doi: 10.1038/335683a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Rosson D., Reddy E. P. Nucleotide sequence of chicken c-myb complementary DNA and implications for myb oncogene activation. Nature. 1986 Feb 13;319(6054):604–606. doi: 10.1038/319604a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Roth B. A., Goff S. A., Klein T. M., Fromm M. E. C1- and R-dependent expression of the maize Bz1 gene requires sequences with homology to mammalian myb and myc binding sites. Plant Cell. 1991 Mar;3(3):317–325. doi: 10.1105/tpc.3.3.317. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Rushlow K. E., Lautenberger J. A., Papas T. S., Baluda M. A., Perbal B., Chirikjian J. G., Reddy E. P. Nucleotide sequence of the transforming gene of avian myeloblastosis virus. Science. 1982 Jun 25;216(4553):1421–1423. doi: 10.1126/science.6283631. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Sakura H., Kanei-Ishii C., Nagase T., Nakagoshi H., Gonda T. J., Ishii S. Delineation of three functional domains of the transcriptional activator encoded by the c-myb protooncogene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Aug;86(15):5758–5762. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.15.5758. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Seed B., Sheen J. Y. A simple phase-extraction assay for chloramphenicol acyltransferase activity. Gene. 1988 Jul 30;67(2):271–277. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(88)90403-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Stober-Grässer U., Brydolf B., Bin X., Grässer F., Firtel R. A., Lipsick J. S. The Myb DNA-binding domain is highly conserved in Dictyostelium discoideum. Oncogene. 1992 Mar;7(3):589–596. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Stober-Grässer U., Lipsick J. S. Specific amino acid substitutions are not required for transformation by v-myb of avian myeloblastosis virus. J Virol. 1988 Mar;62(3):1093–1096. doi: 10.1128/jvi.62.3.1093-1096.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Studier F. W., Rosenberg A. H., Dunn J. J., Dubendorff J. W. Use of T7 RNA polymerase to direct expression of cloned genes. Methods Enzymol. 1990;185:60–89. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(90)85008-c. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Tice-Baldwin K., Fink G. R., Arndt K. T. BAS1 has a Myb motif and activates HIS4 transcription only in combination with BAS2. Science. 1989 Nov 17;246(4932):931–935. doi: 10.1126/science.2683089. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Weston K., Bishop J. M. Transcriptional activation by the v-myb oncogene and its cellular progenitor, c-myb. Cell. 1989 Jul 14;58(1):85–93. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90405-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Virology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES