Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41607282›Full record

ArticleNucleic acids research2026

Zinc-finger transcription factor Fzf1 binds to its target DNA in a non-canonical manner.

Chaoqun Ma, Ying Du, Wei Xiao, Stanley A Moore

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nucleic acids research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Zinc-Finger 5 Is an Activation Domain in theJournal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Chaoqun MaDepartment of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada.
Ying DuDepartment of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada.
Wei XiaoDepartment of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-7568-0782
Stanley A MooreDepartment of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-6561-0908

Funding

CIHR MOP-126155Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada RGPIN-2011-262138Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada RGPIN-2019-05604Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada RGPIN-2025-0666
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fzf1 is a transcriptional regulator with five Cys2His2 zinc fingers, controlling the expression of SSU1, YHB1, DDI2/3, and YNR064C genes through a shared promoter sequence CS2. After exposure to chemicals such as cyanamide (CY) or methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), Fzf1-regulated gene expression increases in yeast cells without concomitant changes in Fzf1 levels, suggesting that chemical modification of Fzf1 leads to increased transcription of target genes. Here, we showed that Fzf1 binds to the four known CS2 promoter sequences with comparable nanomolar affinity, while treatment of Fzf1 with inducing chemicals CY or MMS modestly increased its binding affinity for CS2 sequences. Crystallographic analysis of the N-terminal three zinc fingers of Fzf1 bound to a 26-bp YHB1 CS2 DNA containing the consensus sequence 3'-C3G4T5C6T7G8A9T10A11G12T13-5' reveals non-canonical recognition of duplex DNA for a zinc finger transcription factor. The first zinc finger interacts with the 5'-end dG3' of the standard non-recognition strand, while the second and third fingers read two (3'-T7G8-5') and four (3'-T10A11G12T13-5') adjacent base pairs on the recognition strand, respectively. Recognition of the DNA phosphodiester backbone by Fzf1 mostly resembles other zinc finger proteins. Future work will aim to elucidate how chemical modification of Fzf1 increases transcriptional activation in vivo.

Indexed as

DNA-Binding ProteinsDNA, FungalSaccharomyces cerevisiaeSaccharomyces cerevisiae ProteinsTranscription FactorsBinding SitesCrystallography, X-RayGene Expression Regulation, FungalModels, MolecularPromoter Regions, GeneticProtein BindingZinc FingersDNA-Binding ProteinsDNA, FungalSaccharomyces cerevisiae ProteinsTranscription Factors

Identifiers

PMID41607282
PMCPMC12852955

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.