The transcriptional regulator Taf14 is a component of multiple protein complexes involved in transcription initiation and chromatin remodeling in yeast cells. Although Taf14 is not required for cell viability, it becomes essential in conditions where the formation of the transcription pre-initiation complex (PIC) is hampered. The specific role of Taf14 in mediating transcription initiation and PIC formation is unclear. Here, we explored its role in the general transcription factor TFIID by mapping Taf14 genetic and proteomic interactions and found that it was needed for the function of the complex if Htz1, the yeast homolog of histone H2A.Z, was absent from chromatin. Dissecting the functional domains of Taf14 revealed that the linker region between the YEATS and ET domains was required for cell viability in the absence of Htz1 protein. We further show that the linker region of Taf14 interacts with DNA. We propose that providing additional DNA binding capacity might be a general role of Taf14 in the recruitment of protein complexes to DNA and chromatin.

转录调节因子 Taf14 是参与酵母细胞转录起始和染色质重塑的多种蛋白复合物的一个组成部分。尽管细胞活力不需要 Taf14，但在转录前起始复合物 (PIC) 的形成受到阻碍的情况下，它变得必不可少。Taf14 在介导转录起始和 PIC 形成中的具体作用尚不清楚。在这里，我们通过绘制 Taf14 遗传和蛋白质组学相互作用来探索它在一般转录因子 TFIID 中的作用，并发现如果 Htz1（组蛋白 H2A.Z 的酵母同源物）在染色质中不存在，则复合物的功能需要它。剖析 Taf14 的功能域表明，在没有 Htz1 蛋白的情况下，细胞活力需要 YEATS 和 ET 域之间的接头区域。我们进一步表明 Taf14 的接头区域与 DNA 相互作用。我们建议提供额外的 DNA 结合能力可能是 Taf14 在将蛋白质复合物募集到 DNA 和染色质中的一般作用。