DNA sequences necessary for transcription of the rabbit β-globin gene in vivo

Abstract

The DNA sequences required for the expression of the rabbit β-globin gene in vivo have been examined. A variety of mutant rabbit β-globin gene templates were linked to a simian virus 40–plasmid recombinant and introduced into HeLa cells; in these conditions the rabbit β-globin gene is expressed from its own promoter. Comparison of the level of β-globin transcripts in a variety of deletion mutants shows that for efficient transcription, both the ATA or Goldberg–Hogness box, and a region between 100 and 58 base pairs in front of the site at which transcription is initiated, are required. Deletion of either of these regions results in a decrease in the level of β-globin transcripts by an order of magnitude; deletion of the ATA box causes an additional loss in the specificity of the site of initiation of RNA synthesis. The DNA sequences downstream from the ATA box, including the natural β-globin mRNA cap site, are dispensable for transcription in vivo.