Regulation of gene expression
hideGene modulation redirects here. For information on therapeutic regulation of gene expression, see therapeutic gene modulation.
Regulation of gene expression (or gene regulation) includes the processes that cells and viruses use to turn the information in genes into gene products. Although a functional gene product may be an RNA or a protein, the majority of known mechanisms regulate protein coding genes. Any step of the gene's expression may be modulated, from DNA-RNA transcription to the post-translational modification of a protein.
Gene regulation is essential for viruses, prokaryotes and eukaryotes as it increases the versatility and adaptability of an organism by allowing the cell to express protein when needed. The first discovered example of a gene regulation system was the lac operon, discovered by Jacques Monod, in which protein involved in lactose metabolism are expressed by E.coli only in the presence of lactose and absence of glucose.
Furthermore, gene regulation drives the processes of cellular differentiation and morphogenesis, leading to the creation of different cell types in multicellular organisms where the different types of cells may possess different gene expression profiles though they all possess the same genome sequence.
For more information about Regulation of gene expression, read the full article at
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News tagged with gene regulation
Researchers demonstrate that messenger RNA are lost in translation
Aug 23, 2009 |
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Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine assistant professor in the Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Jeff Coller, Ph.D., and his team discovered that messenger RNA (mRNA) predominately degrade on ribosomes, fundamentally ...
Scientists find universal rules for food-web stability
Aug 06, 2009 |
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The findings, published in this week's issue of Science, conclude that food-web stability is enhanced when many diverse predator-prey links connect high and intermediate trophic levels. The computations also reveal that s ...
New research into the mechanisms of gene regulation
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team led by Penn State's Ross Hardison, T. Ming Chu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has taken a large step toward unraveling how regulatory proteins control the production ...
Technique finds gene regulatory sites without knowledge of regulators
Nov 19, 2009 |
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A new statistical technique developed by researchers at the University of Illinois allows scientists to scan a genome for specific gene-regulatory regions without requiring prior knowledge of the relevant transcription factors. ...
Toward new drugs that turn genes on and off
Jun 04, 2009 |
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Scientists in Michigan and California are reporting an advance toward development of a new generation of drugs that treat disease by orchestrating how genes in the body produce proteins involved in arthritis, ...
Small molecules mimic natural gene regulators
Jun 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In the quest for new approaches to treating and preventing disease, one appealing route involves turning genes on or off at will, directly intervening in ailments such as cancer and diabetes, which result ...
Conserved gene expression reveals our 'inner fish'
Apr 16, 2009 |
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A study of gene expression in chickens, frogs, pufferfish, mice and people has revealed surprising similarities in several key tissues. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Biology have shown that e ...
What's driving specific patterns of gene expression among cell types?
Mar 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Providing another tool to help to understand gene regulation on a global scale, a nationwide research team has identified and mapped 55,000 enhancers, short regions of DNA that act to enhance or boost the ...
Cancer's distinctive pattern of gene expression could aid early screening and prevention
Jul 27, 2009 |
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Distinctive patterns of genes turned off - or left on - in healthy versus cancerous cells could enable early screening for many common cancers and maybe help avoid them, Medical College of Georgia scientists ...
Modification of mutant huntingtin protein increases its clearance from brain cells
Apr 02, 2009 |
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A new study has identified a potential strategy for removing the abnormal protein that causes Huntington's disease (HD) from brain cells, which could slow the progression of the devastating neurological disorder. In the ...
Simple twists of fate
Biology /
Sep 30, 2008 |
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A novel Brandeis University study this week in PLoS Biology reports on some of the molecular gymnastics performed by a protein involved in regulating DNA transcription. Using state-of-the art tools, researchers observed the sh ...
Researchers find new mode of gene regulation in mammals
Biology /
Jul 09, 2008 |
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Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have discovered a type of gene regulation never before observed in mammals--a "ribozyme" that controls the activity of an important family of genes ...
