de Folter Stefan, Angenent Gerco C
Business Unit Bioscience, Plant Research International, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Trends Plant Sci. 2006 May;11(5):224-31. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2006.03.008. Epub 2006 Apr 17.
The interaction between a transcription factor and its binding site at the DNA is an integral part of transcriptional regulatory networks, which is fundamental for an understanding of biological processes. An example is the family of MADS domain transcription factors, which represent key regulators of processes in yeast, animals and plants. However, despite our extensive knowledge of these transcription factors, limited information is available on the cis-elements to which these proteins bind or how these elements are defined. Here, we discuss the current understanding of MADS protein binding sites and compare data from various organisms. This information can help us in developing algorithms to predict binding sites for MADS domain transcription factors, which would be a significant step forward in the identification of "down-stream" target genes and the elucidation of transcriptional networks.
转录因子与其在DNA上的结合位点之间的相互作用是转录调控网络不可或缺的一部分，这对于理解生物学过程至关重要。一个例子是MADS结构域转录因子家族，它们是酵母、动物和植物中各种过程的关键调节因子。然而，尽管我们对这些转录因子有广泛的了解，但关于这些蛋白质所结合的顺式元件或这些元件是如何定义的信息却很有限。在这里，我们讨论对MADS蛋白结合位点的当前理解，并比较来自各种生物体的数据。这些信息有助于我们开发算法来预测MADS结构域转录因子的结合位点，这将是在鉴定“下游”靶基因和阐明转录网络方面向前迈出的重要一步。
