TAF(II) mutations disrupt Dorsal activation in the Drosophila embryo

In this study, we present evidence that the Dorsal activator interacts with limiting amounts of the TFIID complex in the Drosophila embryo. In vitro transcription reactions and protein binding assays implicate the TAF(II)110 and TAF(II)60 subunits of the TFIID complex in contributing to Dorsal-mediated activation. Mutations in TAF(II)110 and TAF(II)60 result in altered patterns of snail and twist transcription in embryos derived from dl/+ females. These results suggest that TAF(II)s contribute to the activation of transcription in vivo and support the hypothesis that subunits of TFIID may serve as targets of enhancer binding proteins.