Promoter
Promoter
Promoter (/prəˈmoʊtər/) is a region of DNA that initiates transcription of a particular gene. Promoters are located near the transcription start sites of genes, on the same strand and upstream on the DNA (towards the 5' region of the sense strand).
Etymology
The term "promoter" comes from the Latin promotus, the past participle of promovere, meaning "to move forward". In the context of genetics, it refers to the sequence that "moves forward" the process of transcription.
Function
Promoters can be about 100–1000 base pairs long and are vital for the regulation of gene expression. The specific sequence of a promoter is very important because it determines whether the corresponding gene is transcribed all the time, some of the time, or infrequently.
Related Terms
- Transcription factor: A protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA, by binding to a specific DNA sequence.
- Operator (biology): A segment of DNA to which a transcription factor binds to regulate gene expression.
- Gene expression: The process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product.
- Operon: A functioning unit of genomic DNA containing a cluster of genes under the control of a single promoter.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Promoter
- Wikipedia's article - Promoter
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