Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Bioessays. 2023 Oct;45(10):e2300044. doi: 10.1002/bies.202300044. Epub 2023 May 31.
Tight control of the transcription process is essential for the correct spatial and temporal gene expression pattern during development and in homeostasis. Enhancers are at the core of correct transcriptional activation. The original definition of an enhancer is straightforward: a DNA sequence that activates transcription independent of orientation and direction. Dissection of numerous enhancer loci has shown that many enhancer-like elements might not conform to the original definition, suggesting that enhancers and enhancer-like elements might use multiple different mechanisms to contribute to transcriptional activation. Here, we review methodologies to identify enhancers and enhancer-like elements and discuss pitfalls and consequences for our understanding of transcriptional regulation.
转录过程的严密控制对于发育过程中和体内平衡时正确的时空基因表达模式至关重要。增强子是正确转录激活的核心。增强子的原始定义很简单：一个能够独立于方向和位置激活转录的 DNA 序列。对许多增强子位点的剖析表明，许多类似增强子的元件可能不符合原始定义，这表明增强子和类似增强子的元件可能使用多种不同的机制来促进转录激活。在这里，我们回顾了鉴定增强子和类似增强子元件的方法，并讨论了这些方法在我们对转录调控理解方面的陷阱和后果。
