DNA sequence required in bacterial promoters for transcription
The Pribnow box (also known as the Pribnow-Schaller box) is a sequence of TATAAT of six
nucleotides (
thymine,
adenine,
thymine, etc.) that is an essential part of a
promoter site on
DNA for
transcription to occur in
bacteria.[1][2] It is an idealized or
consensus sequence—that is, it shows the most frequently occurring base at each position in many promoters analyzed; individual promoters often vary from the consensus at one or more positions. It is also commonly called the -10 sequence or element, because it is centered roughly ten base pairs upstream from the site of initiation of transcription.
The Pribnow box has a function similar to the
TATA box that occurs in promoters in
eukaryotes and
archaea: it is recognized and bound by a subunit of
RNA polymerase during initiation of transcription.[3] This region of the DNA is also the first place where base pairs separate during prokaryotic transcription to allow access to the template strand. The AT-richness is important to allow this separation, since
adenine and
thymine are easier to break apart (not only due to fewer
hydrogen bonds, but also due to weaker
base stacking effects).[4]
The term "Pribnow box" is used in episode 13 of Neon Genesis Evangelion, in reference to the chamber holding simulation
Evangelions for testing purposes.