Eukaryotic Gene Regulation Flashcards
Different levels of regulation
- Chromatin remodeling
- RNA processing
- DNA Methylation
Are genes turned off permanently or temporarily?
In some cases genes are turned off permanently, can turn them into a permanent type of cell (permanently silenced). Others can be turned on and off
Do all cells have the same DNA?
the nuclei of cells contain a complete complement of genetic information, cells don’t lose chromosomes that have genes on them that certain cells don’t need
Dolly
Dolly the sheep in 1997 Wilmut and colleagues in Scotland
• Dolly died in 2003 (6 yrs old). She died from progressive lung disease, but also suffered from arthritis. Cloned animals tend to suffer maladies,including premature aging.
What is so amazing about cloning?
Nucleus of the first cell (that gave rise to dolly) came from a somatic cell. That cell had already differentiated and became a permanent udder/skin cell so they had to switch it back on to make different types of cells
Do all cells express the same genes?
• Within an organism, each cell type has a unique protein expression profile.
Some things are the same, probably expressed at different levels. May express the same important/generic proteins used for cell maintenance, but there are many different ones that are cell specific
– Some common genes such as rRNA genes are referred to as “housekeeping” genes because they are expressed at all times in all cell types
Gene Expression is highly regulated
All cells contain the same genetic material; however, different types of cells contain different kinds of proteins. Therefore, the expression of genes must be regulated/controlled in a cell specific manner
Expression of genes must also be controlled temporarily duringdevelopment and in response to certain environmental factors.
In addition, the level of gene expression is also regulated…certain proteins are present in higher levels than others in a
particular type of cell.
When is gene regulation most tightly controlled?
During embryonic development
Transcriptional control
Turning transcription on or off- binding of inhibitor, repressor protein to promoter sequence to turn off expression of the gene
RNA processing control
Alternative splicing
RNA transcript and localization control
Whether or not mRNA has appropriate signal peptide to take it where it needs to go
Translational control
Whether or not ribosome sits down on mRNA
mRNA degradation control
How quickly is the mRNA degraded, how long is it available to be translated? Seem can be translated multiple times to make multiple proteins
Protein activity control
Phosphorylation, dephosphorylation, proteolytic processing of insulin
How do hormones turn genes on?
Hormones (if steroid derivatives) can be lipid soluble and go through the cell membrane and bind to a receptor protein. typically dimerizes. the dimer of receptor and steroid hormone will bind to promoter region on DNA and turn on a gene. Response to hormone is turning on gene expression
A eukaryotic gene is regulated by many regulatory elements and proteins
Expression of genes are governed by the gene control region: promoter and regulatory elements
Regulatory or enhancer sequences
Specific DNA binding proteins bind to a gene’s regulatory sequences to determine where and when transcription will initiate; can either be activators or repressors
Regulatory elements can be found tens of thousands of base pairs either upstream or downstream from the promoter, or adjacent
Transcription Factors
Typically two domains (Structural or functional. Can have many motifs)
- DNA-binding domain
- Activation domain (Other proteins come and associate, activates polymerase and the rest of the proteins it is associated with to kick the polymerase off the promoter and transcribe the gene)
A stable framework so that those regions which recognize the DNA can be positioned to interact with the DNA double helix. Recognize promoter regions or enhancer regions
Stimulate transcription
How do transcription factors interact with the DNA?
These protein motifs fit around DNA so they recognize base pair patterns. Recognize promoter regions or enhancer sequence regions.
Examples of transcription factors
Beta helix loop helix
TFIIIA zinc finger motif Needed for transcription of 5s rRNA
Leucine zipper (beta zipper)
Hmg- high mobility group proteins bend DNA and bring enhancer sequences that are far away into close proximity to general transcription factor proteins or mediators
Why do transcription factors function as dimers?
- Heterodimerization expands the diversity of regulatory factors that can be generated
- 3 bHLH proteins can make 6 different transcription factors
Can recognize many promoter sites, don’t need one transcription factor for each promoter sequences due to dimerization
Possible Mechanisms of Transcriptional Activation
Recruit transcription factors to vicinity of promoter (increase the local concentration)
Stabilize formation of pre-initiation complex
Disrupt local chromatin structure- How closely wrapped is the DNA around the histones
Acetylation/deacetylation of histones, modifying them
Model of all elements of transcriptional control
Regulatory transcription factors recruit chromatin-remodeling complex and HATs. Chromatin decondenses
When chromatin decondenses, a region of DNA is exposed, including the promoter
Regulatory transcription factors recruit proteins of the basal transcription complex to the promoter, looping DNA
RNA polymerase and the basal transcription complex join to form the initiation complex, transcription begins
Where are the enhancers and what do they do?
Enhancers upstream and downstream of coding region in this example. Proteins bind to these enhancers. Enhancers are cis, on dna adjacent to the gene. enhancer proteins recognize enhancer element and bind to transcription factors on the promotor. Gtf and enhancers bring in polymerase. Ca help stabilize pol on the DNA. many genes don’t have enhancer sequences, less efficient transcription
How do enhancers stimulate transcriptionfrom a distance?
Enhancers are composed of one or more binding sites for regulatory proteins, such as activators and repressors
Activators interact with other proteins (i.e. mediator complex) to bring in and stabilize transcription machinery, causing the intervening DNA to loop out
Mediator is the molecular bridge between activators and RNA Pol II
How do activators work?
Activator protein hits pol, RNA pol shoots off promoter. Also due to CTD phosphorylation. Looping of dna can interact with mediator. Mediator interacts with all tfs and pol, activator can hit that, change in its conformation and then mediator disassociates with pol and pol leaves its association with tfs and transcription begins. Increases efficiency
Mediators
Several DNA-bound activators can interact with a single mediator complex
The mediator complex is a type of co-activator—intermediary proteins that assist the transcription activators to stimulate initiation of transcription
Subunits of a mediator can bind to RNA pol II, activation domain of various activator proteins, and histone acetylation activity