Reinke Valerie, Krause Michael, Okkema Peter
Department of Genetics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
WormBook. 2013 Jun 4:1-34. doi: 10.1895/wormbook.1.45.2.
Protein coding gene sequences are converted to mRNA by the highly regulated process of transcription. The precise temporal and spatial control of transcription for many genes is an essential part of development in metazoans. Thus, understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying transcriptional control is essential to understanding cell fate determination during embryogenesis, post-embryonic development, many environmental interactions, and disease-related processes. Studies of transcriptional regulation in C. elegans exploit its genomic simplicity and physical characteristics to define regulatory events with single-cell and minute-time-scale resolution. When combined with the genetics of the system, C. elegans offers a unique and powerful vantage point from which to study how chromatin-associated proteins and their modifications interact with transcription factors and their binding sites to yield precise control of gene expression through transcriptional regulation.
蛋白质编码基因序列通过高度调控的转录过程转化为信使核糖核酸（mRNA）。对许多基因转录的精确时空控制是后生动物发育的重要组成部分。因此，了解转录控制背后的分子机制对于理解胚胎发生、胚后发育、许多环境相互作用以及疾病相关过程中的细胞命运决定至关重要。秀丽隐杆线虫转录调控的研究利用其基因组的简单性和物理特性，以单细胞和分钟时间尺度分辨率来定义调控事件。当与该系统的遗传学相结合时，秀丽隐杆线虫提供了一个独特而强大的优势视角，从中可以研究染色质相关蛋白及其修饰如何与转录因子及其结合位点相互作用，通过转录调控实现对基因表达的精确控制。
