Control of Gene

Expression

Alberts, Chapters 8

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Eucaryotic gene expression can be controlled at
several different steps

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The Transcription Cycle

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A Cluster Of Baterical Genes Can Be
Transcribed From A Single Promoter

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Genes can be switched on and off with repressor proteins: lessons
from tryptophan operon

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Gene expression can also be controlled with
activator proteins

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 An Activator and a Repressor Control lac Operon

Activator CAP binds to DNA activation sequence when it binds with cAMP
Repressor binds to the operator sequence.
Allolactose binds to the repressor protein and removes it from the DNA.
Addition of lactose increase the concentration of allolactose.
Addition of glucose decrease the concentration of cAMP.

Which of the following conditions allows lac operon to be highly expressed?

1) + Glucose and +Lactose; 2)+Glucose and Lactose;

3) - Glucose and Lactose; 4) - Glucose and +Lactose.
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Regulation of transcription in eucaryotes differs in
four important ways from that in bacteria:

1. RNA polymerases;
2. Transcription factors;
3. Eucaryotic gene regulatory proteins control
gene expression from a distance;
4. DNA package.

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Eucaryptic RNA
polymerase II
requires general
transcription
factors to initiate
transcription

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In eucaryotes, gene activation occurs at a distance

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Initiation of Eucaryptic Gene Transcription

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Regulatory proteins work together as a committee to
control the expression of a eucaryptic gene

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Even-skipped-eve in the big egg of
Drosophila

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Modular construction of the eve gene regulatory regions

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 Four gene regulatory proteins distribute unevenly in
the early fly embryo

Activator Repressor

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Figure 8-14 Essential Cell Biology ( Garland Science 2010)
 The regulatory module for eve stripe 2 contains
binding sites for four different gene regulatory proteins

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Figure 8-14 Essential Cell Biology ( Garland Science 2014)
A single transcription regulator can coordinated
the expression of many different genes

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Transcription factors consist of discrete, functional modules.

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A gene regulatory protein binds to the major
groove of a DNA helix

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Gene regulartory
proteins contain a
variety of DNA
binding motifs

Helix turn-helix
Zinc finger
Leucine zipper

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Transcription factor dimers that recognize novel targets

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Chapter 8 Study Guide. Control of Gene Expression

Overall Goal: Understand how gene expression is regulated, especially at the transcriptional level.

Specific Objectives:

1) Understand how sequence-specific DNA binding proteins can regulate transcription.

2) Know the difference between activators and repressors.

3) What the general transcription factors do in eukaryotic cells.

4) Know how enhancers work to regulate transcription, and how combinations of different proteins can work
through them to regulate gene expression.

5) Understand that chromatin structure and histone modifications can strongly influence gene expression.

6) Combine the information in this chapter, especially Fig 8-3, with what you learned in Chapter 7, to
understand how RNA splicing (processing), RNA export, and translational control can be regulated to control
the expression of proteins in a cell.

Problems: 8-1, 8-3, 8-5, 8-6 , 8-9, 8-12.

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Chapter 9

How Genes and Genomes Evolve

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The tree of life has three major divisions

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Phylogenetic trees display the relationships among modern life forms

The genome sequences of two species differ in proportion to

the length of time that they have evolved separately
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Purifying Selection

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Features of evolutionary
sequence conservation
in closely related species

Non-coding exons conserved, but changes,

including additions, or losses of bases, often
occur.

1) Coding sequences conserved. Few changes in

DNA, few or none in protein. If deletions or
insertions occur, they are in runs of three.

2) Intron sequences change more rapidly.

Conserved near splice junctions, but diverge in
middle.
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Features of evolutionary
sequence conservation
in more diverged species

Non-coding exons conserved, but more

differences than with close species.

1) Coding sequences conserved. Third position

changes common. Few amino acid changes.

2) Intron sequences change rapidly. Conserved near

splice junctions, but rapidly diverge.

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Figure 9-22 Essential Cell Biology ( Garland Science 2010)
The puffer fish, Fugu rubripes, has a remarkable compact genome

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Gene duplication can occur by crossover
between short repeated sequence on DNA

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Exon shuffling can generate proteins with
new combinations of protein domains

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 The positions of mobil genetic elements in the human and
mouse genomes reflect the long evolutionary time
separating the two species

red L1 green Alu

09_18_transposons.jpg

blue B1 alu brown L1

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Figure 9-20 Essential Cell Biology ( Garland Science 2010)
Chapter 9 Study Guide. How Genes and Genomes evolve

Overall Goals: Understand what the patterns of sequence conservation and sequence differences reveals about gene structure,
function, and evolution. Understand the fundamental means by which genomes change in structure over time.

Specific Objectives:
1) Know how to interpret the relationships in simple phylogenetic trees.
2) Be able to interpret the pattern of sequence conservation and divergence to extract information about gene structure and
regulatory information.
3) Recognize that much of the genome is repetitive and that much of it consists of transposable elements
4) Understand how mutations, duplications, and exon duplications and exon shuffling can influence genome evolution.

Problems:
9-3, 9-8, 9-9, 9-12, 9-14, 9-15, 9-17. Do all these problems. In addition to addressing molecular evolution, they are useful review
for much material in Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8.

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