Skip to main content
PMC home page
Molecular and Cellular Biology logoLink to Molecular and Cellular Biology
. 1985 Jun;5(6):1498–1511. doi: 10.1128/mcb.5.6.1498

Linker scanning mutagenesis of the 5'-flanking region of the mouse beta-major-globin gene: sequence requirements for transcription in erythroid and nonerythroid cells.

P Charnay, P Mellon, T Maniatis
PMCID: PMC366883  PMID: 3861935

Abstract

We analyzed the sequences required for transcription of the mouse beta-major-globin gene by introducing deletion and linker scanning mutations into the 5'-flanking region and then studying the effects of these mutations on beta-globin gene transcription in a HeLa cell transient expression assay or after stable introduction into mouse erythroleukemia cells. Consistent with earlier studies, we found that three distinct regions upstream from the RNA capping site are required for efficient beta-globin gene transcription in HeLa cells: the ATA box located 30 base pairs upstream from the mRNA capping site (-30), the CCAAT box located at -75, and the distal sequence element CCACACCC located at -90. In the ATA and CAAT box regions, the sequences necessary for efficient transcription extend beyond the limits of the canonical sequences. Mutations in the sequences located between the three transcriptional control elements do not significantly affect transcription in HeLa cells. Although the promoter defined in HeLa cell transfection experiments is also required for efficient transcription in mouse erythroleukemia cells, none of the mutations tested affects the regulation of beta-globin gene transcription during mouse erythroleukemia cell differentiation. Thus, DNA sequences downstream from the mRNA cap site appear to be sufficient for the regulation of beta-globin gene expression during the differentiation of mouse erythroleukemia cells in culture.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

1500Image
on p.1500
1505Image
on p.1505
1506Image
on p.1506
1507Image
on p.1507
1508Image
on p.1508

Selected References

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

  1. Baker C. C., Herisse J., Courtois G., Galibert F., Ziff E. Messenger RNA for the Ad2 DNA binding protein: DNA sequences encoding the first leader and heterogenity at the mRNA 5' end. Cell. 1979 Oct;18(2):569–580. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(79)90073-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Banerji J., Olson L., Schaffner W. A lymphocyte-specific cellular enhancer is located downstream of the joining region in immunoglobulin heavy chain genes. Cell. 1983 Jul;33(3):729–740. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90015-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Banerji J., Rusconi S., Schaffner W. Expression of a beta-globin gene is enhanced by remote SV40 DNA sequences. Cell. 1981 Dec;27(2 Pt 1):299–308. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90413-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Benoist C., Chambon P. In vivo sequence requirements of the SV40 early promotor region. Nature. 1981 Mar 26;290(5804):304–310. doi: 10.1038/290304a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Benoist C., O'Hare K., Breathnach R., Chambon P. The ovalbumin gene-sequence of putative control regions. Nucleic Acids Res. 1980 Jan 11;8(1):127–142. doi: 10.1093/nar/8.1.127. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Berk A. J., Sharp P. A. Sizing and mapping of early adenovirus mRNAs by gel electrophoresis of S1 endonuclease-digested hybrids. Cell. 1977 Nov;12(3):721–732. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(77)90272-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Breathnach R., Chambon P. Organization and expression of eucaryotic split genes coding for proteins. Annu Rev Biochem. 1981;50:349–383. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.50.070181.002025. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Chao M. V., Mellon P., Charnay P., Maniatis T., Axel R. The regulated expression of beta-globin genes introduced into mouse erythroleukemia cells. Cell. 1983 Feb;32(2):483–493. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90468-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Charnay P., Maniatis T. Transcriptional regulation of globin gene expression in the human erythroid cell line K562. Science. 1983 Jun 17;220(4603):1281–1283. doi: 10.1126/science.6574602. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Charnay P., Treisman R., Mellon P., Chao M., Axel R., Maniatis T. Differences in human alpha- and beta-globin gene expression in mouse erythroleukemia cells: the role of intragenic sequences. Cell. 1984 Aug;38(1):251–263. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90547-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Corden J., Wasylyk B., Buchwalder A., Sassone-Corsi P., Kedinger C., Chambon P. Promoter sequences of eukaryotic protein-coding genes. Science. 1980 Sep 19;209(4463):1406–1414. doi: 10.1126/science.6251548. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Davison B. L., Egly J. M., Mulvihill E. R., Chambon P. Formation of stable preinitiation complexes between eukaryotic class B transcription factors and promoter sequences. Nature. 1983 Feb 24;301(5902):680–686. doi: 10.1038/301680a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Deisseroth A., Hendrick D. Human alpha-globin gene expression following chromosomal dependent gene transfer into mouse erythroleukemia cells. Cell. 1978 Sep;15(1):55–63. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(78)90082-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Dierks P., van Ooyen A., Cochran M. D., Dobkin C., Reiser J., Weissmann C. Three regions upstream from the cap site are required for efficient and accurate transcription of the rabbit beta-globin gene in mouse 3T6 cells. Cell. 1983 Mar;32(3):695–706. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90055-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Dierks P., van Ooyen A., Mantei N., Weissmann C. DNA sequences preceding the rabbit beta-globin gene are required for formation in mouse L cells of beta-globin RNA with the correct 5' terminus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Mar;78(3):1411–1415. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.3.1411. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Dynan W. S., Tjian R. Isolation of transcription factors that discriminate between different promoters recognized by RNA polymerase II. Cell. 1983 Mar;32(3):669–680. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90053-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Efstratiadis A., Posakony J. W., Maniatis T., Lawn R. M., O'Connell C., Spritz R. A., DeRiel J. K., Forget B. G., Weissman S. M., Slightom J. L. The structure and evolution of the human beta-globin gene family. Cell. 1980 Oct;21(3):653–668. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(80)90429-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Flavell A. J., Cowie A., Arrand J. R., Kamen R. Localization of three major cappe 5' ends of polyoma virus late mRNA's within a single tetranucleotide sequence in the viral genome. J Virol. 1980 Feb;33(2):902–908. doi: 10.1128/jvi.33.2.902-908.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Friend C., Scher W., Holland J. G., Sato T. Hemoglobin synthesis in murine virus-induced leukemic cells in vitro: stimulation of erythroid differentiation by dimethyl sulfoxide. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1971 Feb;68(2):378–382. doi: 10.1073/pnas.68.2.378. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Fromm M., Berg P. Deletion mapping of DNA regions required for SV40 early region promoter function in vivo. J Mol Appl Genet. 1982;1(5):457–481. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Gillies S. D., Morrison S. L., Oi V. T., Tonegawa S. A tissue-specific transcription enhancer element is located in the major intron of a rearranged immunoglobulin heavy chain gene. Cell. 1983 Jul;33(3):717–728. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90014-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Grosschedl R., Birnstiel M. L. Delimitation of far upstream sequences required for maximal in vitro transcription of an H2A histone gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Jan;79(2):297–301. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.2.297. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Grosschedl R., Birnstiel M. L. Identification of regulatory sequences in the prelude sequences of an H2A histone gene by the study of specific deletion mutants in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Mar;77(3):1432–1436. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.3.1432. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Grosschedl R., Birnstiel M. L. Spacer DNA sequences upstream of the T-A-T-A-A-A-T-A sequence are essential for promotion of H2A histone gene transcription in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Dec;77(12):7102–7106. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.12.7102. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Grosveld G. C., Rosenthal A., Flavell R. A. Sequence requirements for the transcription of the rabbit beta-globin gene in vivo: the -80 region. Nucleic Acids Res. 1982 Aug 25;10(16):4951–4971. doi: 10.1093/nar/10.16.4951. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Grosveld G. C., Shewmaker C. K., Jat P., Flavell R. A. Localization of DNA sequences necessary for transcription of the rabbit beta-globin gene in vitro. Cell. 1981 Jul;25(1):215–226. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90246-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Grosveld G. C., de Boer E., Shewmaker C. K., Flavell R. A. DNA sequences necessary for transcription of the rabbit beta-globin gene in vivo. Nature. 1982 Jan 14;295(5845):120–126. doi: 10.1038/295120a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Hardison R. C. The nucleotide sequence of the rabbit embryonic globin gene beta 4. J Biol Chem. 1983 Jul 25;258(14):8739–8744. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Hofer E., Hofer-Warbinek R., Darnell J. E., Jr Globin RNA transcription: a possible termination site and demonstration of transcriptional control correlated with altered chromatin structure. Cell. 1982 Jul;29(3):887–893. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90450-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Humphries R. K., Ley T., Turner P., Moulton A. D., Nienhuis A. W. Differences in human alpha-, beta- and delta-globin gene expression in monkey kidney cells. Cell. 1982 Aug;30(1):173–183. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90023-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Konkel D. A., Tilghman S. M., Leder P. The sequence of the chromosomal mouse beta-globin major gene: homologies in capping, splicing and poly(A) sites. Cell. 1978 Dec;15(4):1125–1132. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(78)90040-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Lacy E., Maniatis T. The nucleotide sequence of a rabbit beta-globin pseudogene. Cell. 1980 Sep;21(2):545–553. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(80)90492-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Little P. F., Treisman R., Bierut L., Seed B., Maniatis T. Plasmid vectors for the rapid isolation and transcriptional analysis of human beta-globin gene alleles. Mol Biol Med. 1983 Dec;1(5):473–488. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Lowy I., Pellicer A., Jackson J. F., Sim G. K., Silverstein S., Axel R. Isolation of transforming DNA: cloning the hamster aprt gene. Cell. 1980 Dec;22(3):817–823. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(80)90558-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Marks P. A., Rifkind R. A. Erythroleukemic differentiation. Annu Rev Biochem. 1978;47:419–448. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.47.070178.002223. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Mathis D. J., Chambon P. The SV40 early region TATA box is required for accurate in vitro initiation of transcription. Nature. 1981 Mar 26;290(5804):310–315. doi: 10.1038/290310a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Mathis D. J., Elkaim R., Kédinger C., Sassone-Corsi P., Chambon P. Specific in vitro initiation of transcription on the adenovirus type 2 early and late EII transcription units. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Dec;78(12):7383–7387. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.12.7383. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Maxam A. M., Gilbert W. A new method for sequencing DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Feb;74(2):560–564. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.2.560. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. McKnight S. L. Functional relationships between transcriptional control signals of the thymidine kinase gene of herpes simplex virus. Cell. 1982 Dec;31(2 Pt 1):355–365. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90129-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. McKnight S. L., Gavis E. R., Kingsbury R., Axel R. Analysis of transcriptional regulatory signals of the HSV thymidine kinase gene: identification of an upstream control region. Cell. 1981 Aug;25(2):385–398. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90057-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. McKnight S. L., Kingsbury R. Transcriptional control signals of a eukaryotic protein-coding gene. Science. 1982 Jul 23;217(4557):316–324. doi: 10.1126/science.6283634. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Mellon P., Parker V., Gluzman Y., Maniatis T. Identification of DNA sequences required for transcription of the human alpha 1-globin gene in a new SV40 host-vector system. Cell. 1981 Dec;27(2 Pt 1):279–288. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90411-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Melton D. A., Krieg P. A., Rebagliati M. R., Maniatis T., Zinn K., Green M. R. Efficient in vitro synthesis of biologically active RNA and RNA hybridization probes from plasmids containing a bacteriophage SP6 promoter. Nucleic Acids Res. 1984 Sep 25;12(18):7035–7056. doi: 10.1093/nar/12.18.7035. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Myers R. M., Rio D. C., Robbins A. K., Tjian R. SV40 gene expression is modulated by the cooperative binding of T antigen to DNA. Cell. 1981 Aug;25(2):373–384. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90056-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Neuberger M. S. Expression and regulation of immunoglobulin heavy chain gene transfected into lymphoid cells. EMBO J. 1983;2(8):1373–1378. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1983.tb01594.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Orkin S. H., Kazazian H. H., Jr, Antonarakis S. E., Goff S. C., Boehm C. D., Sexton J. P., Waber P. G., Giardina P. J. Linkage of beta-thalassaemia mutations and beta-globin gene polymorphisms with DNA polymorphisms in human beta-globin gene cluster. Nature. 1982 Apr 15;296(5858):627–631. doi: 10.1038/296627a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Orkin S. H., Sexton J. P., Cheng T. C., Goff S. C., Giardina P. J., Lee J. I., Kazazian H. H., Jr ATA box transcription mutation in beta-thalassemia. Nucleic Acids Res. 1983 Jul 25;11(14):4727–4734. doi: 10.1093/nar/11.14.4727. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Orkin S. H., Swerdlow P. S. Globin RNA synthesis in vitro by isolated erythroleukemic cell nuclei: direct evidence for increased transcription during erythroid differentiation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Jun;74(6):2475–2479. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.6.2475. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Osborne T. F., Arvidson D. N., Tyau E. S., Dunsworth-Browne M., Berk A. J. Transcription control region within the protein-coding portion of adenovirus E1A genes. Mol Cell Biol. 1984 Jul;4(7):1293–1305. doi: 10.1128/mcb.4.7.1293. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Osborne T. F., Gaynor R. B., Berk A. J. The TATA homology and the mRNA 5' untranslated sequence are not required for expression of essential adenovirus E1A functions. Cell. 1982 May;29(1):139–148. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90098-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Parker C. S., Topol J. A Drosophila RNA polymerase II transcription factor contains a promoter-region-specific DNA-binding activity. Cell. 1984 Feb;36(2):357–369. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90229-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Queen C., Baltimore D. Immunoglobulin gene transcription is activated by downstream sequence elements. Cell. 1983 Jul;33(3):741–748. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90016-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Sandri-Goldin R. M., Goldin A. L., Levine M., Glorioso J. C. High-frequency transfer of cloned herpes simplex virus type 1 sequences to mammalian cells by protoplast fusion. Mol Cell Biol. 1981 Aug;1(8):743–752. doi: 10.1128/mcb.1.8.743. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Schaffner W. Direct transfer of cloned genes from bacteria to mammalian cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Apr;77(4):2163–2167. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.4.2163. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  55. Seed B. Purification of genomic sequences from bacteriophage libraries by recombination and selection in vivo. Nucleic Acids Res. 1983 Apr 25;11(8):2427–2445. doi: 10.1093/nar/11.8.2427. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  56. Treisman R., Orkin S. H., Maniatis T. Specific transcription and RNA splicing defects in five cloned beta-thalassaemia genes. Nature. 1983 Apr 14;302(5909):591–596. doi: 10.1038/302591a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  57. Treisman R., Proudfoot N. J., Shander M., Maniatis T. A single-base change at a splice site in a beta 0-thalassemic gene causes abnormal RNA splicing. Cell. 1982 Jul;29(3):903–911. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90452-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  58. Weaver R. F., Weissmann C. Mapping of RNA by a modification of the Berk-Sharp procedure: the 5' termini of 15 S beta-globin mRNA precursor and mature 10 s beta-globin mRNA have identical map coordinates. Nucleic Acids Res. 1979 Nov 10;7(5):1175–1193. doi: 10.1093/nar/7.5.1175. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  59. Wright S., Rosenthal A., Flavell R., Grosveld F. DNA sequences required for regulated expression of beta-globin genes in murine erythroleukemia cells. Cell. 1984 Aug;38(1):265–273. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90548-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  60. Wright S., deBoer E., Grosveld F. G., Flavell R. A. Regulated expression of the human beta-globin gene family in murine erythroleukaemia cells. Nature. 1983 Sep 22;305(5932):333–336. doi: 10.1038/305333a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  61. Zinn K., DiMaio D., Maniatis T. Identification of two distinct regulatory regions adjacent to the human beta-interferon gene. Cell. 1983 Oct;34(3):865–879. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90544-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Molecular and Cellular Biology are provided here courtesy of Taylor & Francis

RESOURCES