ROLE OF NUCLEOSOME REMODELING FACTOR NURF IN TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVATION OF CHROMATIN

The Drosophila nucleosome remodeling factor (NURF) is a protein comple x of four subunits that assists transcription factor-mediated perturba tion of nucleosomes in an ATP-dependent manner. We have investigated t he role of NURF in activating transcription from a preassembled chroma tin template and have found that NURF is able to facilitate transcript ion mediated by a GAL4 derivative carrying both a DNA binding and an a ctivator domain. Interestingly, once nucleosome remodeling by the DNA binding factor is accomplished, a high level of NURF activity is not c ontinuously required for recruitment of the general transcriptional ma chinery and transcription for at least 100 nucleotides. Our results pr ovide direct evidence that NURF is able to assist gene activation in a chromatin context, and identify a stage of NURF dependence early in t he process leading to transcriptional initiation.