TATA Binding Protein (TBP)

The TATA binding protein (TBP) is a transcription factor that binds specifically to a DNA sequence called the TATA box. This DNA sequence is found about 25-30 base pairs upstream of the transcription start site in some eukaryotic gene promoters. TBP, along with a variety of TBP-associated factors, make up the TFIID, a general transcription factor that in turn makes up part of the RNA polymerase II preinitiation complex.

As one of the few proteins in the preinitiation complex that binds DNA in a sequence-specific manner, it helps position RNA polymerase II over the transcription start site of the gene. However, it is estimated that only 10-20% of human promoters have TATA boxes. Therefore, TBP is probably not the only protein involved in positioning RNA polymerase II.