Revisiting the model for coactivator recruitment: Med15 can select its target sites independent of promoter-bound transcription factors

Activation domains (ADs) within transcription factors (TFs) induce gene expression by recruiting coactivators such as the Mediator complex. Coactivators lack DNA binding domains (DBDs) and are assumed to passively follow their recruiting TFs. This is supported by direct AD-coactivator interactions seen in vitro but has not yet been tested in living cells. To examine that, we targeted two Med15-recruiting ADs to a range of budding yeast promoters through fusion with different DBDs. The DBD-AD fusions localized to hundreds of genomic sites but recruited Med15 and induced transcription in only a subset of bound promoters, characterized by a fuzzy-nucleosome architecture. Direct DBD-Med15 fusions shifted DBD localization towards fuzzy-nucleosome promoters, including promoters devoid of the endogenous Mediator. We propose that Med15, and perhaps other coactivators, possess inherent promoter preference and thus actively contribute to the selection of TF-induced genes.