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07:23
Describing a Transcription Factor Dependent Regulation of the MicroRNA Transcriptome
Published on: June 15, 2016
Robustness of transcriptional regulatory program influences gene expression variability
Zhiming Dai1, Xianhua Dai, Qian Xiang
1Electronic Department, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, PR China. zhimdai@gmail.com
BMC Genomics
|December 4, 2009
Summary
Transcription factors (TFs) ensure robust gene regulation through activity redundancy, preventing changes when one TF is lost. Fragile regulatory programs, however, drive gene expression variability and evolution.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Systems Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Gene transcription is often robust to single transcription factor (TF) perturbations.
- The mechanisms maintaining this transcriptional robustness are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanisms underlying robust transcriptional regulatory programs.
- To explore the relationship between transcriptional robustness and gene expression variability.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of cooperative transcription factors and their target genes.
- Assessment of gene expression variability in relation to regulatory program fragility.
Main Results:
- Cooperative TFs exhibit activity redundancy, compensating for individual losses and conferring robustness.
- Genes with fragile transcriptional regulatory programs show higher expression variability and evolutionary rates.
- Fragility of transcriptional regulatory programs is a key driver of expression variability.
Conclusions:
- Activity-redundant TFs are crucial for maintaining robust transcriptional regulatory programs.
- Transcriptional regulatory program fragility significantly contributes to gene expression variability.
- These findings elucidate the mechanisms governing transcriptional robustness and expression variability.
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