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

RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins

RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins

Proteins that regulate transcription can do so either via direct contact with RNA Polymerase or through indirect interactions facilitated by adaptors, mediators, histone-modifying proteins, and nucleosome remodelers. Direct interactions to activate transcription is seen in bacteria as well as in some eukaryotic genes. In these cases, upstream activation sequences are adjacent to the promoters, and the activator proteins interact directly with the transcriptional machinery. For example, in...

Transcription

Transcription

Transcription is the synthesis of RNA from a DNA sequence by RNA polymerase. It is the first step in producing a protein from a gene sequence. Additionally, many other proteins and regulatory sequences are involved in correctly synthesizing messenger RNA (mRNA). Transcriptional regulation is responsible for the differentiation of different types of cells and often for the proper cellular response to environmental signals.
Transcription Can Produce Different Kinds of RNA Molecules
In eukaryotes,...

Structure of a Gene

Structure of a Gene

A gene is the fundamental unit of heredity. Every individual has two copies of each gene, one inherited from each parent. Although most people contain the same genes, there is a small fraction that is slightly different amongst people. A gene with a small difference in its sequence of DNA bases forms different alleles, contributing to different phenotypes.
However, only 1% of the DNA is composed of genes that encode proteins; the rest, 99% is non-coding DNA. This non-coding DNA performs...

Combinatorial Gene Control

Combinatorial Gene Control

Combinatorial gene control is the synergistic action of several transcriptional factors to regulate the expression of a single gene. The absence of one or more of these factors may lead to a significant difference in the level of gene expression or repression.
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...

Epigenetic Regulation

Epigenetic Regulation

Epigenetic mechanisms play an essential role in healthy development. Conversely, precisely regulated epigenetic mechanisms are disrupted in diseases like cancer.

What is Gene Expression?

What is Gene Expression?

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Decoding the molecular logic of rapidly evolving ZAD zinc finger proteins in <i>Drosophila</i>.

Science advances·2026

Same author

Dynamic modulation of enhancer-promoter and promoter-promoter connectivity in gene regulation.

BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology·2024

Same author

Antagonistic regulation of salt and sugar chemotaxis plasticity by a single chemosensory neuron in Caenorhabditis elegans.

PLoS genetics·2023

Same author

Enhancer dynamics: Unraveling the mechanism of transcriptional bursting.

Science advances·2023

Same author

The piRNA cluster torimochi is an expanding transposon in cultured silkworm cells.

PLoS genetics·2023

Same author

Mod(mdg4) variants repress telomeric retrotransposon HeT-A by blocking subtelomeric enhancers.

Nucleic acids research·2022

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 9, 2025

Author Spotlight: An Integrated Workflow to Study the Promoter-Centric Spatio-Temporal Genome Architecture in Scarce Cell Populations

Author Spotlight: An Integrated Workflow to Study the Promoter-Centric Spatio-Temporal Genome Architecture in Scarce Cell Populations

Published on: April 21, 2023

Dynamic interplay between non-coding enhancer transcription and gene activity in development.

Kota Hamamoto^1,2, Yusuke Umemura^1,2, Shiho Makino¹

¹Laboratory of Transcription Dynamics, Research Center for Biological Visualization, Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

Nature Communications

|February 22, 2023

Summary

Non-coding transcription from enhancers suppresses gene activity by disrupting transcription factor hubs. This reveals a new mechanism for regulating gene expression during development.

More Related Videos

Prediction and Validation of Gene Regulatory Elements Activated During Retinoic Acid Induced Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation

Prediction and Validation of Gene Regulatory Elements Activated During Retinoic Acid Induced Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation

Published on: June 21, 2016

Identification of Enhancer-Promoter Contacts in Embryoid Bodies by Quantitative Chromosome Conformation Capture 4C

Identification of Enhancer-Promoter Contacts in Embryoid Bodies by Quantitative Chromosome Conformation Capture 4C

Published on: April 29, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 9, 2025

Author Spotlight: An Integrated Workflow to Study the Promoter-Centric Spatio-Temporal Genome Architecture in Scarce Cell Populations

Author Spotlight: An Integrated Workflow to Study the Promoter-Centric Spatio-Temporal Genome Architecture in Scarce Cell Populations

Published on: April 21, 2023

Prediction and Validation of Gene Regulatory Elements Activated During Retinoic Acid Induced Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation

Prediction and Validation of Gene Regulatory Elements Activated During Retinoic Acid Induced Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation

Published on: June 21, 2016

Identification of Enhancer-Promoter Contacts in Embryoid Bodies by Quantitative Chromosome Conformation Capture 4C

Identification of Enhancer-Promoter Contacts in Embryoid Bodies by Quantitative Chromosome Conformation Capture 4C

Published on: April 29, 2020

Area of Science:

Molecular Biology
Genomics
Developmental Biology

Background:

Non-coding transcription in intergenic regions is common in metazoans, but its function is unclear.
Understanding the role of non-coding transcription is crucial for deciphering genome regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the functional role of non-coding transcription at regulatory regions.
To explore the relationship between enhancer transcription and gene activity regulation.

Main Methods:

Developed a live-imaging system for simultaneous visualization of gene activity and non-coding transcription in Drosophila.
Utilized quantitative image analysis, super-resolution imaging, and genome-editing techniques.

Main Results:

Enhancer transcription suppresses transcriptional bursting of linked genes.
Enhancer transcription antagonizes transcription factor crowding, preventing transcription hub formation.
Specific developmental enhancers are optimized for co-activating gene and non-coding transcription.

Conclusions:

Non-coding transcription modulates enhancer function by regulating transcription hub formation.
Enhancer activity is dynamically tunable through non-coding transcription during development.