Considerable progress has been made during the past year on structural studies of the eukaryotic and bacterial transcription factors that control RNA polymerase function via the formation of multiprotein complexes on promoter DNA. Recently determined structures include negative cofactor 2 recognizing a preformed TATA-box-binding protein-DNA binary complex, a dimer of BmrR bound to both DNA and tetra-phenylphosphonium, DNA-bound complexes of SarA and FadR, leukemia-associated AML1-CBFbeta-DNA ternary complexes and a SAP1-SRF-DNA ternary complex.