BIOL 3301 Chapter 14 and 15 Notes

Small effector protein

play a critical role in transcription by binding to the regulatory element.

Corepressor

A small effector molecule that binds to a repressor protein to inhibit transcription

Inhibitor

Binds to an activator protein and prevents binding to DNA

Inducer

Can bind either to repressor or activator protein to increase rate of transcription

Operon

A group of two or more genes that are under transcriptional control of a single promotor

Cap site in operon

The DNA sequence recognized by an activator protein

Operator site

The sequence of base hat provides a binding site for repressor protein

Cyclic-AMP

• in bacteria it is a small effector molecule that binds to CAP

• In eukaryotes, it functions as a second messenger in a variety of intracellular signaling pathways

General transcription factors

Required for binding of RNA poly

Domain

Region of a protein that has a specific function

Motif

The name given to amino acid sequences or domains that have very similar structure and function

Up-regulation

When an activator binds there is an increase in transcription

Down regulation

When a repressor protein binds there is a down regulation of transcription

The functions of RTFs are controlled by

1. The binding of small effector proteins

2. Protein-protein binding

3. Covalent modifications