Jump to content

Trans-regulatory element

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by McDonell "Chemical Burger" Miller (talk | contribs) at 21:21, 30 November 2020 (Added examples section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Trans-regulatory elements are genes which may modify (or regulate) the expression of distant genes.[1] More specifically, trans-regulatory elements are DNA sequences that encode trans-acting factors (often proteins such as transcription factors).

Trans-regulatory elements work through an intermolecular interaction between two different molecules and so are said to be "acting in trans". For example (1) a transcribed and translated transcription factor protein derived from the trans-regulatory element; and a (2) DNA regulatory element that is adjacent to the regulated gene. This is in contrast to cis-regulatory elements that work through an intramolecular interaction between different parts of the same molecule: (1) a gene; and (2) an adjacent regulatory element for that gene in the same DNA molecule.

Examples of trans-acting factors include the genes for:[2]

  • Subunits of RNA polymerase
  • Proteins that bind to RNA polymerase to stabilize the initiation complex
  • Proteins that bind to all promoter of specific sequences, but not to RNA polymerase (TFIID factors)
  • Proteins that bind to a few promoters and are required for transcription initiation (positive regulators of gene expression)

Examples

Trans-acting factors in alternative splicing in mRNA. Alternative splicing is a key mechanism that is involved in gene expression regulation. In the alternative splicing, trans-acting factors such as SR protein, hnRNP and snRNP control this mechanism by acting in trans. SR protein promotes the spliceosome assembly by interacting with snRNP(e.g. U1, U2) and splicing factors(e.g. U2AF65), and it can also antagonize the activity of hnRNP that inhibits splicing.

Trans-acting factors can be categorized by their interactions with the regulated genes, cis-acting elements of the genes, or the gene products.

See also

References

  1. ^ Gilad Y, Rifkin SA, Pritchard JK (August 2008). "Revealing the architecture of gene regulation: the promise of eQTL studies". Trends Genet. 24 (8): 408–15. doi:10.1016/j.tig.2008.06.001. PMC 2583071. PMID 18597885.
  2. ^ McClean, Phillip. "Cis-Acting element and trans-acting factors". 1998.


Stub icon

This genetics article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trans-regulatory_element&oldid=991591255"