Richard N. Freiman ¹, Shane R. Albright ^{1, 2}, Shuang Zheng ^{1, 2}, William C. Sha ¹, Robert E. Hammer ^{2, 3},
Robert Tjian ^{1, 2} *

¹ Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, and
² Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA.
³ Department of Biochemistry and the Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.

 *   To whom correspondence should be addressed.
E-mail:    jmlim@uclink4.berkeley.edu 

Transcription factor TFIID, composed of TBP and TAF_II subunits, is a central component of the RNA polymerase II machinery. Here, we report that the tissue-selective TAF_II105 subunit of TFIID is essential for proper development and function of the mouse ovary. Female mice lacking TAF_II105 are viable but infertile because of a defect in folliculogenesis correlating with restricted expression of TAF_II105 in the granulosa cells of the ovarian follicle. Gene expression profiling has uncovered a defective inhibin-activin signaling pathway in TAF_II105-deficient ovaries. Together, these studies suggest that TAF_II105 mediates the transcription of a subset of genes required for proper folliculogenesis in the ovary and establishes TAF_II105 as a cell type-specific component of the mammalian transcriptional machinery. 

1. "Activation of DNA Transcription within Repressed Chromatin".

2. "Oncogenes as Molecular Targets within Active Chromatin".