Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) has been ascribed to a chromosomal translocation event which results in a fusion protein comprising the PML protein and the retinoic acid receptor alpha. PML is normally a component of a nuclear multiprotein complex (termed ND10, Kr bodies, nuclear bodies, PML oncogenic domains or PODs) which is disrupted in the APL disease state. PML contains a number of characterized motifs including a Zn2+ binding domain called the RING or C3HC4 finger. Here we describe the solution structure of the PML RING finger as solved by 1H NMR methods at physiological pH with r.m.s. deviations for backbone atoms of 0.88 and 1.39 A for all atoms. Additional biophysical studies including CD and optical spectroscopy, show that the PML RING finger requires Zn2+ for autonomous folding and that cysteines are used in metal ligation. A comparison of the structure with the previously solved equine herpes virus IE110 RING finger, shows significant differences suggesting that the RING motif is structurally diverse. The role of the RING domain in PML nuclear body formation was tested in vivo, by using site‐directed mutagenesis and immunofluorescence on transiently transfected NIH 3T3 cells. Independently mutating two pairs of cysteines in each of the Zn2+ binding sites prevents PML nuclear body formation, suggesting that a fully folded RING domain is necessary for this process. These results suggest that the PML RING domain is probably involved in protein‐protein interactions, a feature which may be common to other RING finger domains.

We have examined parameters that affect sequence‐specific interactions of the mouse c‐myb protein with DNA oligomers containing the Myb‐binding motif (CA/CGTTPu). Complexes formed between these oligomers and in vitro translated c‐myb proteins were analysed by electrophoresis on non‐denaturing polyacrylamide gels using the mobility‐shift assay. By progressive truncation of c‐myb coding sequences it was demonstrated that amino acids downstream of a region of three imperfect 51‐52 residue repeats (designated R1, R2 and R3), which are located close to the amino terminus of the protein, had no qualitative or quantitative effect on the ability to interact specifically with this DNA motif. However, removal of only five amino acids of the R3 repeat completely abolished this activity. The contribution of individual DNA‐binding domain repeats to this interaction was investigated by precisely deleting each individually: it was demonstrated that a combination of R2 and R3 was absolutely required for complex formation while the R1 repeat was completely dispensible. c‐myb proteins showed quantitatively greater interaction with oligomers containing duplicated rather than single Myb‐binding motif, in particular where these were arranged in tandem. Moreover, it was observed that c‐myb protein interacted with these tandem motifs as a monomer. These findings imply that a single protein subunit straddles adjacent binding sites and the implications for c‐myb activity are discussed.

The Drosophila segmentation gene, hairy (h), acts to regulate embryonic segmentation and bristle pattern. We present the DNA sequence of the h gene and of h cDNAs, thereby deducing the organization of the h transcripts. The h gene encodes a 337 amino acid protein that acts in both embryonic segmentation and adult bristle patterning. The h protein includes a domain that shows extensive similarity to a domain of the proto‐oncogene N‐myc that may be involved in DNA binding and/or protein dimerization. We discuss mechanisms of h action as a transcriptional regulator.

The interphase nucleus compartmentalizes its components to give rise to a highly organized and tightly controlled environment. Individual chromosomes occupy discrete areas, termed "chromosome territories," that are separated from each other by a channel called the "interchromosomal domain" (reviewed in Lamond and Earnshaw 1998). Actively transcribed genes tend to be at the periphery of chromosomal territories, whereas newly made RNA transcripts localize into the interchromosomal domain, where they can undergo further processing and transport. Movement within the nucleus (Ferreira et al. 1997) may permit chromosomes to enter "factories" that contain all the necessary enzymatic machinery for replication (reviewed in Jackson 1995).Of the many discrete domains identified throughout the nucleus, the largest are nucleoli, sites of ribosomal RNA synthesis and processing, and sites of preribosomal particle assembly (reviewed in Scheer and Weisenberger 1994). Other subnuclear bodies that appear as punctate structures under immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy include various dynamic structures involved in the maintenance and replication of DNA and RNA synthesis, processing, and transport (reviewed in Nickerson et al. 1995): replication foci, transcript foci, speckled domains, coiled bodies, gems, and promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) nuclear bodies. Spliceosomal small nuclear (sn) ribonucleoprotein (RNP) components and a subset of non-snRNP splicing factors can be found concentrated in discrete subnuclear domains called "coiled bodies" (Matera and Frey 1998 [in this issue]). It is becoming increasingly apparent that the nucleus has an organization and contains a number of discrete macromolecular domains that coordinate a variety of nuclear processes.

Using a binding site selection procedure, we have found that sequence-specific DNA-binding by the mouse c-myb protein involves recognition of nucleotides outside of the previously identified hexanucleotide motif. Oligonucleotides containing a random nucleotide core were immunoprecipitated in association with c-Myb, amplified by the Polymerase Chain Reaction and cloned in plasmids prior to sequencing. By alignment of sequences it was apparent that additional preferences existed at each of three bases immediately 5' of the hexanucleotide consensus, allowing an extension of the preferred binding site to YGRCVGTTR. The contributions of these 5' nucleotides to binding affinity was established in bandshift analyses with oligonucleotides containing single base substitutions; in particular, it was found that replacement of the preferred guanine at position -2 with any other base greatly reduced c-Myb binding. We found that the protein encoded by the related B-myb gene bound the preferred c-Myb site with similar affinity; however, B-Myb and c-Myb showed distinct preferences for the identity of the nucleotide at position -1 relative to the hexanucleotide consensus. This study demonstrates that the c-Myb DNA-binding site is more extensive than recognised hitherto and points to similar but distinct nucleotide preferences in recognition of DNA by related Myb proteins.