Background
TBP is a member of a small gene family of TBP-related factors. The first TBP-related factor (TRF/TRF1) was identified in the fruit fly Drosophila, but appears to be fly or insect-specific. TBP is involved in DNA melting (double strand separation) by bending the DNA by 80° (the AT-rich sequence to which it binds facilitates easy melting). The TBP is an unusual protein in that it binds the minor groove using a β sheet. TBP is also important for transcription by RNA polymerase I and RNA polymerase III, and is therefore involved in transcription initiation by all three RNA polymerases.
Cellular location
Nucleus