Lodish 7E, Select Vocab, Chapter 7

Front 1

activation domain

Back 1

a region of an activator transcription factor that will stimulate transcription when fused to a DNA binding domain

Front 2

enhanceosome

Back 2

large nucleoprotein complex that assembles from from transcription factors as they bind cooperatively to their binding sites in an enhancer with the assistance of DNA bending proteins

Front 3

enhancers

Back 3

a regulator sequence in eukaryotic DNA that may be located at a great distance from the gene it controls or even within the coding sequence; binding of specific proteins to an enhancer modulates the rate of transcription of the associated gene

Front 4

leucine zipper

Back 4

a type of coiled coil structural motif composed of two alpha helices that form specific homo or hetero dimers; common in man eukaryotic transcription factors, usually a protein, forming a macromolecule ligand comlex

Front 5

mediator

Back 5

a very large multiprotein complex that forms a molecular bridge between transcriptional activators bound to an enhancer and to RNA polymerase II boud at a promoter; functions as a coactivator in stimulating transcription

Front 6

nuclear receptors

Back 6

member of a class of intracellular receptors that bind lipid soluble molecules (e.g. steroid hormones), forming ligand receptor complexes that activate transcription

Front 7

promotor

Back 7

DNA sequence that determines the site of transcription initiation for an RNA polymerase

Front 8

promotor proximal elements

Back 8

any regulatory sequence in eukaryotic DNA that is located within around 200 base pairs of the transcription start site; transcription of many genes is controlled by multiple promoter proximal elements

Front 9

repression domain

Back 9

a region of a repressor transcription factor that will inhibit transcription when fused to a DNA binding domain

Front 10

silencer sequences

Back 10

a sequence in eukaryotic DNA that promotes formation of condense chromatin structures in a localized region thereby blocking access of proteins require for transcription of genes within several hundred base pairs of the silencer

Front 11

TATA box

Back 11

a conserved sequence in the promoter of many eukaryotic protein coding genes where the transcription initiation complex assembles

Front 12

upstream activating sequences (UASs)

Back 12

any protein binding regulatory sequence in the DNA of yeast and other simple eukaryotes that is necessary for maximal gene expression; equivalent to an enhancer or promoter-proximal element in higher eukaryotes

Front 13

zinc finger

Back 13

several related DNA binding structural motifs composed of secondary structure folded around a zinc ion; present in numerous eukaryotic transcription factors

Front 14

operon

Back 14

in bacterial DNA, a cluster of contiguous genes transcribed from one promoter that gives rise to an mRNA containing coding sequences for multiple proteins