Gene Regulation

Gene regulation is most often mediated by proteins that react to environmental Signals by raising or lowering the transcription rates of specific genes.

-In prokaryotes, coordinate gene control is achieved by clustering coordinated structural genes on the chromosome so that they are transcribed into multigenic mRNAs. -Negative regulatory control is exemplified by the lac system, in which a repressor protein blocks transcription by binding to DNA at a site termed the operator. - Positive regulatory control requires protein factors to activate transcription. - Many regulatory proteins have common structural features. - In eukaryotes, additional regulatory DNA sites, such as enhancers, can act at considerable distance from the transcription start site to modulate gene expression by interacting with specific regulatory proteins. - Cells need to be able to turn on or off the transcription of each specific gene or group of genes. - Cells must be able to recognize environmental conditions in which they should activate or repress transcription of the relevant genes.