Related topics: genes · cells · gene expression · stem cells · dna sequences

Gene expression technology set to semi-automation

The Human Genome Project generated the first sequence of the human genome, revealing a kind of blueprint of human biology. Two decades later, the field of gene regulatory networks describes a complex system where thousands ...

Unlocking the mechanism of pineapple internal browning

Internal browning (IB) is a significant post-harvest issue in pineapples, impacting fruit quality and leading to substantial losses, yet its mechanism remains poorly understood. Studies have shown that the accumulation of ...

Research provides insight into constructing gene regulatory networks

Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) depict the regulatory mechanisms of genes within cellular systems as a network, offering vital insights for understanding cell processes and molecular interactions that determine cellular phenotypes. ...

Researchers discover how cells modulate macropinocytic activity

Macropinocytosis is one of the major pathways by which cells non-selectively internalize extracellular fluids. The laboratory strain Dictyostelium discoideum serves as a valuable model for studying the regulation of macropinocytosis.

Decoding the molecular networks of early human development

New international research shines a light on the role of transcription factors during early embryonic development. Transcription factors are proteins that are critical for gene regulation. The study unveiled more than 1,000 ...

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Transcription factor

In the field of molecular biology, a transcription factor (sometimes called a sequence-specific DNA binding factor) is a protein that binds to specific DNA sequences and thereby controls the transfer (or transcription) of genetic information from DNA to mRNA. Transcription factors perform this function alone or with other proteins in a complex, by promoting (as an activator), or blocking (as a repressor) the recruitment of RNA polymerase (the enzyme which performs the transcription of genetic information from DNA to RNA) to specific genes.

A defining feature of transcription factors is that they contain one or more DNA binding domains (DBDs) which attach to specific sequences of DNA adjacent to the genes that they regulate. Additional proteins such as coactivators, chromatin remodelers, histone acetylases, deacetylases, kinases, and methylases, while also playing crucial roles in gene regulation, lack DNA binding domains, and therefore are not classified as transcription factors.

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