SAF-Box, a conserved protein domain that specifically recognizes scaffold attachment region DNA.

ABSTRACT: SARs (scaffold attachment regions) are candidate DNA elements for partitioning eukaryotic genomes into independent chromatin loops by attaching DNA to proteins of a nuclear scaffold or matrix. The interaction of SARs with the nuclear scaffold is evolutionarily conserved and appears to be due to specific DNA binding proteins that recognize SARs by a mechanism not yet understood. We describe a novel, evolutionarily conserved protein domain that specifically binds to SARs but is not related to SAR binding motifs of other proteins. This domain was first identified in human scaffold attachment factor A (SAF-A) and was thus designated SAF-Box. The SAF-Box is present in many different proteins ranging from yeast to human in origin and appears to be structurally related to a homeodomain. We show h

SUBMITTER: Kipp M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC86301 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature