Gene Regulation COPY Flashcards
What is the role of gene regulation in development?
In development, totipotent cells become pluripotent and then differentiate into unipotent cells.
How can specialized subtypes convert to another?
Specialized subtypes can convert to another by overexpressing transcription factors (TFs).
What errors can occur in gene regulation?
Errors in gene regulation can contribute to unregulated cell growth and division.
What is the overview of gene regulation in eukaryotes?
Regulating the synthesis of the primary transcript regulates everything downstream.
What are upstream regulators?
Upstream regulators modulate activity with enzymes, transcription factors, co-repressors, and co-activators.
Are transcription and translation coupled in eukaryotes?
Transcription and translation are not coupled in eukaryotes.
What is chromatin configuration?
Chromatin configuration refers to the structure of chromatin, including nucleosomes and modifications.
What is a nucleosome composed of?
A nucleosome is composed of a protein octamer (H2A, H2B, H3, H4) x2 and 146 bp of DNA.
What is euchromatin?
Euchromatin is loosely packed, allowing transcription factors to bind and transcription to be active.
What modifications occur in euchromatin?
Euchromatin features unmethylated cytosines and acetylated histones.
What is heterochromatin?
Heterochromatin is densely packed, preventing transcription factors from binding or initiating transcription.
What modifications occur in heterochromatin?
Heterochromatin contains methylated cytosines.
What are CpG islands?
CpG islands are regions in the promoter where methylation occurs, affecting gene expression.
What do DNA methyltransferases (DNMT) do?
DNMTs convert hemi-methylated DNA to fully methylated DNA, allowing the inheritability of the methylation pattern.
What are the mechanisms of DNA methylation?
Mechanisms include blocking transcription factor binding, recruiting other enzymes, and inducing mutations.
What is the role of MBD proteins?
MBD proteins are recruited to interact with histone deacetylases (HDAC) to alter chromatin structure.
What is the function of HDAC?
HDAC removes acetyl groups from histones, leading to deacetylation.
What are epigenetic modifications?
Epigenetic modifications alter chromatin state via DNA methylation and histone modifications.
What is a promoter?
A promoter is located immediately upstream of the 5’ end of a gene.
What is the TATA box?
The TATA box is a site for binding TATA-binding protein (TBP), initiating transcription.
What are promoter-proximal elements?
Promoter-proximal elements are within 200 bp of a gene and bind specific transcription factors.
What are enhancers and silencers?
Enhancers and silencers are distal regulatory regions that may be on different chromosomes.