Comparative genomics as a tool in the understanding of eukaryotic transcriptional regulation

Comparative genomics approaches are having a remarkable impact on the study of transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes. Many eukaryotic genome sequences are being explored by new computational methods and high-throughput experimental tools such as DNA arrays and genome-wide location analyses. These tools are enabling efficient panning for common regulatory cassettes underlying fundamental biological processes, extending the use of existing techniques for the discovery of response elements to mammals, deciphering the transcriptional regulatory code in eukaryotes and providing the first global insights into a recently described post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism. Collectively, these approaches are rapidly expanding both our knowledge and our definition of transcriptional regulation.