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Related Concept Videos

Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps01:23

Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps

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The gene expression in cells is regulated at different stages: (i) transcription, (ii) RNA processing, (iii) RNA localization, and (iv) translation. Transcriptional regulation is mediated by regulatory proteins such as transcription factors, activators, or repressors—these control gene expression by initiating or inhibiting the transcription of genes. Once a precursor or pre-mRNA is produced, it undergoes post-transcriptional modification, including 5' capping, splicing, and the...
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Transcriptional attenuation occurs when RNA transcription is prematurely terminated due to the formation of a terminator mRNA hairpin structure.  Bacteria use these hairpins to regulate the transcription process and control the synthesis of several amino acids including histidine, lysine, threonine, and phenylalanine. Transcription attenuation takes place in the non-coding regions of mRNA.
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Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps02:24

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Gene expression can be regulated at almost every step from gene to protein. Transcription is the step that is most commonly regulated. This involves the binding of proteins to short regulatory sequences on the DNA. This association can either promote or inhibit the transcription of a gene associated with the respective sequence.
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What is Gene Expression?01:42

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Overview
Gene expression is the process in which DNA directs the synthesis of functional products, that is, proteins. Cells can regulate gene expression at various stages. It allows organisms to generate different cell types and enables cells to adapt to internal and external factors.
Genetic Information Flows from DNA to RNA to Protein
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A gene is a stretch of DNA that serves as the blueprint for functional RNAs and proteins. Since DNA is comprised  of nucleotides and proteins are comprised of amino acids, a mediator is required to convert the information encoded in DNA into proteins. This mediator is the messenger RNA (mRNA). mRNA copies the blueprint from DNA by a process called transcription. In eukaryotes, transcription occurs in the nucleus by complementary base-pairing with the DNA template. The mRNA is then...
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Facilitated diffusion buffers noise in gene expression.

Armin P Schoech1, Nicolae Radu Zabet1

  • 1Cambridge Systems Biology Centre, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QR, United Kingdom and Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EH, United Kingdom.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|October 15, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Transcription factors use facilitated diffusion to find DNA targets, reducing gene expression noise. This binding mechanism lowers both mRNA and protein fluctuations in cells.

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Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Systems Biology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Transcription factors regulate gene expression by binding to specific DNA sequences.
  • Facilitated diffusion, involving 3D diffusion in the cytosol and 1D diffusion on DNA, is a key mechanism for transcription factor target searching.
  • Gene expression noise, or stochastic fluctuations, can impact cellular function and fate.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how the facilitated diffusion binding mechanism of transcription factors influences gene expression noise.
  • To model the binding process and its effect on molecular fluctuations.

Main Methods:

  • Representing the transcription factor binding process as a two-state Markov model.
  • Analyzing the impact of accelerated target finding via facilitated diffusion on gene expression noise.

Main Results:

  • The binding process of transcription factors can be accurately modeled using a two-state Markov model for biologically relevant parameters.
  • Accelerated target site identification due to facilitated diffusion significantly reduces fluctuations in both mRNA and protein levels.
  • Facilitated diffusion acts as a noise-buffering mechanism in gene expression.

Conclusions:

  • The facilitated diffusion mechanism employed by transcription factors plays a crucial role in minimizing gene expression noise.
  • Understanding this binding dynamic provides insights into the regulation of cellular processes and the maintenance of cellular homeostasis.
  • The findings highlight the importance of physical diffusion processes in the quantitative control of gene expression.