Genomics, Evolution, and Expression of TBPL2, a Member of the TBP Family

TBPL2 is the most recently discovered and less characterized member of the TATA box binding protein (TBP) family that also comprises TBP, TATA box binding protein-like 1 (TBPL1), and Drosophila melanogaster TBP related factor (TRF). In this paper we report our in silico and in vitro data on (i) the genomics of the TBPL2 gene in Homo sapiens, Pan troglodytes, Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus, Gallus gallus, Xenopus tropicalis, and Takifugu rubripes; (ii) its evolution and phylogenetic relationship with TBP, TBPL1, and TRF; (iii) the structure of the TBPL2 proteins that belong to the recently identified group of the intrinsically unstructured proteins (IUPs); and (iv) TBPL2 expression in different organs and cell types of Homo sapiens and Rattus norvegicus. Similar to TBP, both the TBPL2 gene and protein are bimodular. The 3′ region of the gene encoding the DNA binding domain (DBD) was well conserved during evolution. Its high homology to vertebrate TBP suggests that TBPL2 also should bind to the TATA box an...