Zinc-finger transcription factor Fzf1 binds to its target DNA in a non-canonical manner.

ABSTRACT: Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fzf1 is a transcriptional regulator with five Cys2His2 zinc fingers, controlling the expression of SSU1, YHB1, DDI2/3, and YNR064C genes through a shared promoter sequence CS2. After exposure to chemicals such as cyanamide (CY) or methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), Fzf1-regulated gene expression increases in yeast cells without concomitant changes in Fzf1 levels, suggesting that chemical modification of Fzf1 leads to increased transcription of target genes. Here, we showed that Fzf1 binds to the four known CS2 promoter sequences with comparable nanomolar affinity, while treatment of Fzf1 with inducing chemicals CY or MMS modestly increased its binding affinity for CS2 sequences. Crystallographic analysis of the N-terminal three zinc fingers of Fzf1 bound to a 26-bp YHB

SUBMITTER: Ma C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12852955 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature