Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Single-Molecule Imaging of EWS-FLI1 Condensates Assembling on DNA
Published on: September 8, 2021
The gene regulatory logic of transcription factor evolution
Günter P Wagner1, Vincent J Lynch
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8106, USA. gunter.wagner@yale.edu
Abstract:
A growing debate in evolutionary and developmental biology concerns the relative contribution of cis-regulatory and protein (particularly transcription factor) changes to developmental evolution. Central to this argument are the perceived conservation of transcription factor functions and the modular architecture of cis-regulatory elements. In this paper, we review recent studies on transcription factor proteins that show that transcription factor genes undergo adaptive evolution and evolve novel functions that contribute to the evolution of development. Furthermore, we review experimental work that shows that transcription factor proteins are modular and can evolve with minimal pleiotropic effects. We conclude that changes in the function of proteins are likely directly contributing to developmental evolution.
More Related Videos
11:36An Integrated Workflow to Study the Promoter-Centric Spatio-Temporal Genome Architecture in Scarce Cell Populations
Published on: April 21, 2023
06:38High Sensitivity Measurement of Transcription Factor-DNA Binding Affinities by Competitive Titration Using Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: February 7, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Transcription Factors
Transcription Factors
General Transcription Factors
Combinatorial Gene Control
The expression of more than 30,000 genes is controlled by approximately 2000-3000 transcription factors. This is possible because a single transcription factor can recognize more than one regulatory sequence. The specificity in gene...
RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins
Master Transcription Regulators