Sandelin Albin, Carninci Piero, Lenhard Boris, Ponjavic Jasmina, Hayashizaki Yoshihide, Hume David A
Genome Exploration Research Group (Genome Network Project Core Group), RIKEN Genomic Sciences Center (GSC), RIKEN Yokohama Institute, 1-7-22, Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.
Nat Rev Genet. 2007 Jun;8(6):424-36. doi: 10.1038/nrg2026. Epub 2007 May 8.
The identification and characterization of mammalian core promoters and transcription start sites is a prerequisite to understanding how RNA polymerase II transcription is controlled. New experimental technologies have enabled genome-wide discovery and characterization of core promoters, revealing that most mammalian genes do not conform to the simple model in which a TATA box directs transcription from a single defined nucleotide position. In fact, most genes have multiple promoters, within which there are multiple start sites, and alternative promoter usage generates diversity and complexity in the mammalian transcriptome and proteome. Promoters can be described by their start site usage distribution, which is coupled to the occurrence of cis-regulatory elements, gene function and evolutionary constraints. A comprehensive survey of mammalian promoters is a major step towards describing and understanding transcriptional control networks.
鉴定和表征哺乳动物核心启动子及转录起始位点是理解RNA聚合酶II转录如何受到调控的前提条件。新的实验技术已能在全基因组范围内发现和表征核心启动子，结果显示大多数哺乳动物基因并不符合由TATA框在单一确定核苷酸位置指导转录的简单模型。事实上，大多数基因具有多个启动子，其中存在多个起始位点，并且启动子的交替使用在哺乳动物转录组和蛋白质组中产生了多样性和复杂性。启动子可通过其起始位点使用分布来描述，该分布与顺式调控元件的出现、基因功能及进化限制相关联。对哺乳动物启动子进行全面调查是描述和理解转录调控网络的重要一步。
