What is epigenetic regulation?
The packaging of the DNA is modified to make the DNA more or less accessible (chromatin packaging, methylation).
What are transcription factors?
Proteins that bind to the promoter region and recruit RNA Polymerase
When does RNA processing occur? (Think of the steps in the central dogma.)
After transcription and before translation
What is translation regulation?
It changes the timing, rate, or location of translation.
Is the protein formed before or after post-translational regulation?
Before! Post-translational regulation affects proteins that are already fully formed.
What is a histone?
A histone is a protein that has DNA wrapped tightly around it. Histones and DNA make up chromatin.
What are silencers?
Regions that bind proteins that inhibit transcription
What is alternative splicing?
In RNA processing, exons can be put together in different ways. This results in different proteins.
What is the function of the 5' UTR?
It can determine where the RNA goes and how quickly it is transcribe.
What is phosphorylation?
Addition of a phosphate group to a protein
How do histones regulate gene transcription?
The more tightly wound the DNA is to the histone, the less transcription will occur. If the DNA is loosely wound around the histone, more transcription will occur.
What are introns and exons? Which makes up the final RNA transcript?
Introns and exons are part of a RNA transcript in eukaryotes. Introns are removed from the transcript, and exons are put together in the final RNA transcript.
What might change in a protein after post-translational regulation?
The part of the cell it travels to, conformational change, how it interacts with other molecules
What is methylation?
Occurs when many methyl groups bind to promoter region of a gene
Can one gene have silencers, promoters, and enhancers? Is one more powerful than the other?
A single gene can have many regulatory sequences. One is not necessarily more powerful than another. They work together in complex ways to regulate transcription.
How does methylation regulate gene transcription?
The methyl groups bound to the promoter region prevent RNA Polymerase from binding to the promoter.
How far away are enhancer sequences from the gene? How do they get near enough to influence the transcription of the gene?
Enhancer sequences can be thousands of base pairs away. Once bound, they bend/flip to get close to the promoter sequence.