We report the isolation and sequencing of a 1100-bp DNA fragment conta
ining the salmon Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1 gene (sHNF1) promoter. Th
e sHNF1 promoter cloned upstream of the chloramphenicol acetyl transfe
rase (CAT) encoding gene is shown to be active in two cell lines of he
patic origin. DNaseI footprint analysis of the proximal 400 bp reveals
several protein-binding sites, including a CCAAT box, a potential sit
e for Sp1, and three potential HNF4 binding sites. The sequence does n
ot contain any canonical TATA box or initiator and sHNF1 transcription
is initiated at four different sites spanning a region of 56 bp. Sequ
ence comparison with the Xenopus laevis HNF1 promoter sequence did not
show any significant similarity except in the region overlapping two
of the potential HNF4 binding sites.