luciferase assay promoter - include the TATA box in promoter sequence? (Apr/06/2006 )

Should I leave the TATA box in the promoter I have cloned into a luciferase vector (pgl2 basic), or should I remove it?

Thanks so much,

Autumn

Well it entirely depends on what type of investigation you are performing. The simple answer is 'YES' without it you are unlikely to see any real promoter activity (unless of course that is what you are trying to determine).

Without the TATA box the RNA polymerase machinery is less likely to assemble on your plasmid hence rendering the assay useless.