Question

List a few terms that are unique for regulation of transcription in eukaryotic cells.

Answer 1

Eukaryotic transcription is the elaborate process that eukaryotic cells use to copy genetic information stored in DNA into units of RNA replica. Gene transcription occurs in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. The expression of eukaryotic genes is controlled primarily at the level of initiation of transcription, although in some cases transcription may be attenuated and regulated at subsequent steps. As in bacteria, transcription in eukaryotic cells is controlled by proteins that bind to specific regulatory sequences and modulate the activity of RNA polymerase. The intricate task of regulating gene expression in the many differentiated cell types of multicellular organisms is accomplished primarily by the combined actions of multiple different transcriptional regulatory proteins. In addition, the packaging of DNA into chromatin and its modification by methylation impart further levels of complexity to the control of eukaryotic gene expression.

transcription in bacteria is regulated by the binding of proteins to cis-acting sequences (e.g., thelac operator) that control the transcription of adjacent genes. Similar cis-acting sequences regulate the expression of eukaryotic genes. These sequences have been identified in mammalian cells largely by the use of gene transfer assays to study the activity of suspected regulatory regions of cloned genes