TFIID is itself composed of TBP and several subunits called TATA-binding protein Associated Factors (TBP-associated factors, or TAFs). In a test tube, only TBP is necessary for transcription at promoters that contain a TATA box.[2] TAFs, however, add promoter selectivity, especially if there is no TATA box sequence for TBP to bind to.[1] TAFs are included in two distinct complexes, TFIID[3] and B-TFIID.[4] The TFIID complex is composed of TBP and more than eight TAFs. But, the majority of TBP is present in the B-TFIID complex, which is composed of TBP and TAFII170 (BTAF1) in a 1:1 ratio.[5] TFIID and B-TFIID are not equivalent, since transcription reactions utilizing TFIID are responsive to gene specific transcription factors such as SP1, while reactions reconstituted with B-TFIID are not.[5]
^Dynlacht, Brian David; Hoey, Timothy; Tjian, Robert (Aug 1991). "Isolation of co-activators associated with the TATA-binding protein that mediate transcriptional activation". Cell. 66 (3): 563–576. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(81)90019-2. PMID1907890. S2CID5000858.