Direct demonstration of TBP exchange. (A) Concentration dependence of TBP exchange within TFIID. Multiple, equal amounts of HA-TAF130p-tagged TFIID bound to protein A-Sepharose beads coated with anti-HA monoclonal antibody were generated as detailed in Materials and Methods. These aliquots of bead-bound TFIID were incubated with the indicated increasing molar excess of His6-tagged TBP for 30 min. Unbound His6-tagged TBP was removed by centrifugation and washing. The relative amounts of wild-type (WT) and His6-TBP remaining bead bound to TFIID were determined by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting with polyclonal anti-TBP IgG. This immunoblot is shown in the inset and labeled WT TBP (TFIID-endogenous TBP) and His6-TBP (TBP exchanged into TFIID). Appropriate regions of the gel blot were separately probed with TFIID-specific antibodies (anti-TAF130p, anti-TAF65p, or anti-TAF48p IgGs). All immune complexes were detected by chemiluminescence and quantitated with a Fluor-S Bio-Rad MultiImager. Wild-type and His6-TBP content, corrected for average TAF recovery, is plotted as percent maximal signal as a function of His6-TBP/wild-type TBP ratio. Background subtracted and recovery-corrected wild-type TBP and His6-TBP values, in arbitrary units, were 123 and 0, 126 and 34, 116 and 76, 124 and 136, 92 and 126, 43 and 150, 27 and 161, and 21 and 149 in the reactions with His6-TBP/wild-type TBP ratios of 0, 1, 3, 5, 10, 30, 60, and 100, respectively. Average TAFp recoveries in these reactions ranged from 95 to 112%. (B) Kinetics of TBP-TFIID exchange. TBP-TFIID exchange was performed as above. Seven identical reactions were set up, each with a 10-fold molar excess of His6-tagged TBP relative to TFIID-endogenous wild-type TBP. Samples were incubated for 0, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, or 120 min, as indicated. Wild-type and His6-TBP levels (upper) and TAFp content (lower) were determined by immunoblotting as in panel A. The levels of wild-type and His6-tagged TBP in these reactions were 75 and 0, 53 and 89, 51 and 92, 49 and 87, 38 and 96, 27 and 98, and 25 and 94 arbitrary units in the reactions with His6-TBP/wild-type TBP ratios of 0, 1, 3, 5, 10, 30, 60, and 100, respectively. Recovery of TAFs (lower) was in the same range as for panel A.