In accordance with the present invention, there are provided new members of the steroid receptor superfamily of receptors, a representative member of which has been designated XOR-6. Invention receptors are responsive to hydroxy, mercapto or amino benzoates, and are expressed, for example, in Xenopus laevis embryos. XOR-6 is most closely, although distantly, related to the vitamin D3 receptor (VDR). The proteins are about 73% identical in amino acid sequence in the DNA-binding domains and about 42% identical in the ligand binding domain. Like VDR, XOR-6 has an extended D region between the DNA and ligand binding domains. Notably, the region amino-terminal to the XOR-6 DNA-binding domain is extremely acidic. This may influence its ability to activate target genes. XOR-6 is not restricted to Xenopus because southern blots show the presence of XOR-6-related sequences in a variety of other vertebrates. Indeed, a human genomic clone for an XOR-6 related gene has recently been isolated. In accordance with a particular aspect of the present invention, there are also provided nucleic acid sequences encoding the above-identified receptor, as well as constructs and cells containing same, and probes derived therefrom. Furthermore, we have also discovered that hydroxy, mercapto or amino benzoates modulate the transcription activating effects of invention receptors.
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