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EUKARYOTIC GENE REGULATION:
GENE REGULATION:
Gene regulation is how a cell controls which genes, out of the many genes in its genome, are
“turned on” (expressed). Thanks to gene regulation, each cell type in your body has a
different set of active genes – despite the fact that almost all the cells of your body contain
the exact same DNA. These different patterns of gene expression cause your various cell
types to have different sets of proteins, making each cell type uniquely specialized to do its
job.
Eukaryotic gene expression is more complex than prokaryotic gene expression because the
processes of transcription and translation are physically separated. Unlike prokaryotic cells,
eukaryotic cells can regulate gene expression at many different levels. Eukaryotic gene
expression begins with control of access to the DNA. This form of regulation, called
epigenetic regulation, occurs even before transcription is initiated.
EUKARYOTIC EPIGENETIC GENE REGULATION:
The human genome encodes over 20,000 genes; each of the 23 pairs of human
chromosomes encodes thousands of genes. The DNA in the nucleus is precisely wound,
folded, and compacted into chromosomes so that it will fit into the nucleus. It is also
organized so that specific segments can be accessed as needed by a specific cell type.
If DNA encoding a specific gene is to be transcribed into RNA, the nucleosomes surrounding
that region of DNA can slide down the DNA to open that specific chromosomal region and
allow for the transcriptional machinery (RNA polymerase) to initiate transcription (Figure 2).
Nucleosomes can move to open the chromosome structure to expose a segment of DNA,
but do so in a very controlled manner.
This type of gene regulation is called epigenetic regulation. Epigenetic means

“around genetics.” The changes that occur to the histone proteins and DNA do not
alter the nucleotide sequence and are not permanent. Instead, these changes are
temporary (although they often persist through multiple rounds of cell division) and
alter the chromosomal structure (open or closed) as needed. A gene can be turned
on or off depending upon the location and modifications to the histone proteins
and DNA.
EUKARYOTIC TRANSCRIPTION GENE REGULATION :

Like prokaryotic cells, the transcription of genes in eukaryotes requires the actions of
an RNA polymerase to bind to a sequence upstream of a gene to initiate
transcription. However, unlike prokaryotic cells, the eukaryotic RNA polymerase
requires other proteins, or transcription factors, to facilitate transcription
initiation. Transcription factorsare proteins that bind to the promotersequence and
other regulatory sequences to control the transcription of the target gene. RNA
polymerase by itself cannot initiate transcription in eukaryotic cells. Transcription
factors must bind to the promoter region first and recruit RNA polymerase to the
site for transcription to be established.
Genes are organized to make the control of gene expression easier. The promoter
regionis immediately upstream of the coding sequence. The purpose of the promoter
is to bind transcription factors that control the initiation of transcription.
ENHANCERS AND TRANSCRIPTION :
In some eukaryotic genes, there are regions that help increase or enhance
transcription. These regions, called enhancers, are not necessarily close to the genes
they enhance. They can be located upstream of a gene, within the coding region of
the gene, downstream of a gene, or may be thousands of nucleotides away.
Enhancer regions are binding sequences, or sites, for transcription factors. When a
DNA-bending protein binds, the shape of the DNA changes (Figure 3). This shape
change allows for the interaction of the activators bound to the enhancers with the
transcription factors bound to the promoter region and the RNA polymerase.
TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSORS :
Like prokaryotic cells, eukaryotic cells also have mechanisms to prevent

transcription. Transcriptional repressors can bind to promoter or enhancer regions
and block transcription. Like the transcriptional activators, repressors respond to
external stimuli to prevent the binding of activating transcription factors.
POST TRANSCRIPTIONAL CONTROL OF GENE EXPRESSION :
RNA is transcribed, but must be processed into a mature form before translation can
begin. This processing after an RNA molecule has been transcribed, but before it is
translated into a protein, is called post-transcriptional modification. As with the
epigenetic and transcriptional stages of processing, this post-transcriptional step can
also be regulated to control gene expression in the cell. If the RNA is not processed,
shuttled, or translated, then no protein will be synthesized.
RNA SPLICING :
In eukaryotic cells, the RNA transcript often contains regions, called

introns, that are removed prior to translation. The regions of RNA
that code for protein are called exons(Figure 4). After an RNA
molecule has been transcribed, but prior to its departure from the
nucleus to be translated, the RNA is processed and the introns are
removed by splicing.
Alternative RNA splicing is a mechanism that allows different

protein products to be produced from one gene when different
combinations of introns, and sometimes exons, are removed from
the transcript

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EUKARYOTIC GENE REGULATION:

EUKARYOTIC EPIGENETIC GENE REGULATION:

This type of gene regulation is called epigenetic regulation. Epigenetic means

EUKARYOTIC TRANSCRIPTION GENE REGULATION :

ENHANCERS AND TRANSCRIPTION :

Like prokaryotic cells, eukaryotic cells also have mechanisms to prevent

POST TRANSCRIPTIONAL CONTROL OF GENE EXPRESSION :

In eukaryotic cells, the RNA transcript often contains regions, called

Alternative RNA splicing is a mechanism that allows different

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