NONRADIOACTIVE ASSAY FOR SEQUENCE-SPECIFIC DNA-BINDING PROTEINS

A nonradioactive functional assay was developed to quantitate DNA bind ing proteins. The assay was designed to allow the use of 96-well micro plates for high sample throughput. We show that the assay can measure sequence-specific DNA binding of purified proteins as well as DNA bind ing activity present in whole cell extracts. By using a temperature-se nsitive DNA binding protein, we demonstrate that DNA binding as measur ed by this novel assay correlates with the biological function of the protein.