Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Epistasis Analysis

Epistasis Analysis

Although Mendel chose seven unrelated traits in peas to study gene segregation, most traits involve multiple gene interactions that create a spectrum of phenotypes. When the interaction of various genes or alleles at different locations influences a phenotype, this is called epistasis. Epistasis often involves one gene masking or interfering with the expression of another (antagonistic epistasis). Epistasis often occurs when different genes are part of the same biochemical pathway. The...

Epistasis

Epistasis

In addition to multiple alleles at the same locus influencing traits, numerous genes or alleles at different locations may interact and influence phenotypes in a phenomenon called epistasis. For example, rabbit fur can be black or brown depending on whether the animal is homozygous dominant or heterozygous at a TYRP1 locus. However, if the rabbit is also homozygous recessive at a locus on the tyrosinase gene (TYR), it will have an unshaded coat that appears white, regardless of its TYRP1...

Cooperative Binding of Transcription Regulators

Cooperative Binding of Transcription Regulators

Transcriptional regulators bind to specific cis-regulatory sequences in the DNA to regulate gene transcription. These cis-regulatory sequences are very short, usually less than ten nucleotide pairs in length. The short length means that there is a high probability of the exact same sequence randomly occurring throughout the genome. Since regulators can also bind to groups of similar sequences, this further increases the chances of random binding. Transcriptional regulators form...

Cooperative Binding of Transcription Regulators

Cooperative Binding of Transcription Regulators

Operon Model

Operon Model

The operon model represents a fundamental mechanism of gene regulation in prokaryotes, enabling coordinated expression of genes involved in related metabolic or functional pathways. Operons consist of structural genes, a promoter, and an operator, with transcription regulated by repressors, activators, and small effector molecules.Structure and Function of OperonsAn operon is a cluster of structural genes transcribed together under the control of a single promoter. The promoter region...

Cis-regulatory Sequences

Cis-regulatory Sequences

Cis-regulatory sequences are short fragments of non-coding DNA that are present on the same chromosomes as the genes that they regulate. These fragments serve as binding sites for transcriptional regulators, proteins that are responsible for controlling gene transcription and differential gene expression across cell types in eukaryotes. Cis-regulatory sequences can be close to the gene of interest or thousands of bases away in the DNA sequence; however, those sequences that are further away are...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Presenilin-1 controls glycolysis and identity of pancreatic beta cells.

Communications biology·2026

Same author

Extended sequence context shapes mutational bias in <i>Escherichia coli</i>.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Responsive lysogeny under nonproductive phage binding.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2026

Same author

Deciphering the Impact of Temperature on Pleiotropic Consequences of RNA Polymerase Mutations.

Molecular biology and evolution·2025

Same author

Antimutator and Mutational Spectrum Effects Can Combine to Reduce Evolutionary Potential in Escherichia coli ΔnudJ.

Molecular biology and evolution·2025

Same author

A bacterial toxin-antitoxin system as a native defence element against RNA phages.

Biology letters·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Inherent Dynamics Visualizer, an Interactive Application for Evaluating and Visualizing Outputs from a Gene Regulatory Network Inference Pipeline

Inherent Dynamics Visualizer, an Interactive Application for Evaluating and Visualizing Outputs from a Gene Regulatory Network Inference Pipeline

Published on: December 7, 2021

Regulatory network structure determines patterns of intermolecular epistasis.

Mato Lagator¹, Srdjan Sarikas¹, Hande Acar¹

¹Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Klosterneuburg, Austria.

|November 14, 2017

Summary

Mutating molecular systems, like transcription factors and promoters, increases phenotypic variation more than mutating individual parts. This occurs due to interactions between components, aiding adaptive evolution.

Keywords:

E. coli distributions of mutational effects epistasis evolutionary biology gene regulation genomics

More Related Videos

Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays

Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays

Published on: November 12, 2012

Using Caenorhabditis elegans to Screen for Tissue-Specific Chaperone Interactions

Using Caenorhabditis elegans to Screen for Tissue-Specific Chaperone Interactions

Published on: June 7, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Inherent Dynamics Visualizer, an Interactive Application for Evaluating and Visualizing Outputs from a Gene Regulatory Network Inference Pipeline

Inherent Dynamics Visualizer, an Interactive Application for Evaluating and Visualizing Outputs from a Gene Regulatory Network Inference Pipeline

Published on: December 7, 2021

Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays

Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays

Published on: November 12, 2012

Using Caenorhabditis elegans to Screen for Tissue-Specific Chaperone Interactions

Using Caenorhabditis elegans to Screen for Tissue-Specific Chaperone Interactions

Published on: June 7, 2020

Area of Science:

Molecular biology
Evolutionary genetics
Systems biology

Background:

Phenotypes arise from molecular systems, but the impact of mutations on these systems is poorly understood.
Understanding mutational effects on molecular systems is crucial for comprehending evolutionary processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how the distribution of mutational effects in a transcriptional regulatory system differs from its individual components.
To determine the role of intermolecular epistasis in shaping the phenotypic variation of molecular systems.

Main Methods:

Independent and simultaneous mutation of a transcription factor and its target promoter.
Analysis of phenotypic variation resulting from these mutations.

Main Results:

The transcriptional regulatory system exhibited greater phenotypic variation than its individual components.
Intermolecular epistasis between the transcription factor and its DNA-binding site was identified as the cause of increased variation.
This epistasis is linked to the system's structure and may be common in prokaryotes.

Conclusions:

Intermolecular epistasis in molecular systems can increase phenotypic variation, contrary to expectations.
This increased variation provides more raw material for natural selection, facilitating adaptive evolution.