The transcription factor Tbx20 acts within a hierarchy of T-box factors in lineage specification and morphogenesis in the mammalian heart and is mutated in congenital heart disease. T-box family members share a ∼20-kDa DNA-binding domain termed the T-box. The question of how highly homologous T-box proteins achieve differential transcriptional control in heart development, while apparently binding to the same DNA sequence, remains unresolved. Here we show that the optimal DNA recognition sequence for the T-box of Tbx20 corresponds to a T-half-site. Furthermore, we demonstrate using purified recombinant domains that distinct T-boxes show significant differences in the affinity and kinetics of binding and in conformational stability, with the T-box of Tbx20 displaying molten globule character. Our data highlight unique features of Tbx20 and suggest mechanistic ways in which cardiac T-box factors might interact synergistically and/or competitively within the cardiac regulatory network

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	T-box transcrition factor
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Research Field:	Biochemistry and Cell Biology not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences
Author:	Stennard, FA (Dr Fiona Stennard)
ID Code:	99852
Year Published:	2009
Web of Science® Times Cited:	19
Deposited By:	Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Deposited On:	2015-04-13
Last Modified:	2015-05-05
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