Identification of specific amino acid residues of adenovirus 12 E1A involved in transformation and p300 binding

The early region 1A (E1A) gene of highly oncogenic adenovirus type 12 (Ad12) was analyzed for transforming activity and protein binding using specific mutations, The Ad12 E1A proteins were found to bind p300 protein mainly within the CR1 region, although mutations that affect both p300 binding and transformation were identified in both the CR1 and the N-terminal region. The most critical mutation dlf89 located in the CR1 region was further dissected by point mutations and the results identified S-68 as the most critical for transformation and E-67 as the most critical for p300 binding. Specific mutations that retain p300 binding but impair transcriptional repression of a viral enhancer were also identified in both the N-terminal and CR1 regions.