Alberts Johnson Lewis Raff Roberts Walter

Molecular Biology of the Cell

Fifth Edition

Chapter 7
Control of Gene Expression

Copyright Garland Science 2008

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Table 11.2

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 So a carrot plant can be grown from a single carrot

cell

Root of
carrot plant
Plantlet
Cell division
in culture

Single cell

Root cells cultured in nutrient medium

Figure 11.3A

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Adult plant

Figure 7-2a Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Figure 7-2c Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Figure 7-3 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Figure 7-4 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Figure 7-5 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Control of Gene Expression

Controlling gene expression is often
accomplished by controlling transcription
initiation.
Regulatory proteins bind to DNA to either
block or stimulate transcription, depending
on how they interact with RNA
polymerase.
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Control of Gene Expression

Prokaryotic organisms regulate gene
expression in response to their
environment.
Eukaryotic cells regulate gene expression
to maintain homeostasis in the organism.

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Regulatory Proteins
Gene expression is often controlled by
regulatory proteins binding to specific
DNA sequences.
regulatory proteins gain access to the
bases of DNA at the major groove
regulatory proteins possess DNAbinding motifs

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Figure 7-6 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Regulatory Proteins
DNA-binding motifs are regions of
regulatory proteins which bind to DNA
helix-turn-helix motif
homeodomain motif
zinc finger motif
leucine zipper motif

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Helix-Turn-Helix Motif

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Homeodomain Motif

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Zinc Finger Motif

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Leucine Zipper Motif

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Table 7-1 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Prokaryotic Regulation
Control of transcription initiation can be:
positive control increases
transcription when activators bind DNA
negative control reduces
transcription when repressors bind to
DNA regulatory regions called
operators

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Prokaryotic Regulation
Prokaryotic cells often respond to their
environment by changes in gene
expression.
Genes involved in the same metabolic
pathway are organized in operons.
Some operons are induced when the
metabolic pathway is needed.
Some operons are repressed when the
metabolic pathway is no longer needed.
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Prokaryotic Regulation
The trp operon encodes genes for the
biosynthesis of tryptophan.
The operon is not expressed when the cell
contains sufficient amounts of tryptophan.
The operon is expressed when levels of
tryptophan are low.

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OPERON-Prokaryotes

Figure 7-34 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Prokaryotic Regulation
The trp operon is negatively regulated by
the trp repressor protein
trp repressor binds to the operator to
block transcription
binding of repressor to the operator
requires a corepressor which is
tryptophan
low levels of tryptophan prevent the
repressor from binding to the operator
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Figure 7-35 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Figure 7-37 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Prokaryotic Regulation
The lac operon contains genes for the
use of lactose as an energy source.

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Prokaryotic Regulation
The lac operon contains genes for the
use of lactose as an energy source.
Regulatory regions of the operon include
the CAP binding site, promoter, and the
operator.
The coding region contains genes for 3
enzymes:
-galactosidase, permease, and
transacetylase
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Figure 7-39 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Eukaryotic Regulation
Controlling the expression of eukaryotic
genes requires transcription factors.
general transcription factors are
required for transcription initiation
required for proper binding of RNA
polymerase to the DNA
specific transcription factors increase
transcription in certain cells or in
response to signals
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30
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EUKARYOTIC

Figure 7-44 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Eukaryotic Transcription
General transcription factors bind to the
promoter region of the gene.
RNA polymerase II then binds to the
promoter to begin transcription at the start
site (+1).
Enhancers are DNA sequences to which
specific transcription factors (activators)
bind to increase the rate of transcription.
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33
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Eukaryotic Transcription
Coactivators and mediators are also
required for the function of transcription
factors.
coactivators and mediators bind to
transcription factors and bind to other
parts of the transcription apparatus

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35
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Please, Do not Forget

Chromosome Structure

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Please, Do not Forget

Chromosome Structure
Eukaryotic DNA is packaged into
chromatin.
Chromatin structure is directly related to
the control of gene expression.
Chromatin structure begins with the
organization of the DNA into nucleosomes.
Nucleosomes may block RNA polymerase
II from gaining access to promoters.
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Eukaryotic Chromosome Structure

Methylation (the addition of CH3) of DNA
or histone proteins is associated with the
control of gene expression.
Clusters of methylated cytosine nucleotides
bind to a protein that prevents activators
from binding to DNA.
Methylated histone proteins are associated
with inactive regions of chromatin.
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Figure 7-46 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Figure 7-49 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Posttranscriptional Regulation

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Posttranscriptional Regulation
Control of gene expression usually involves
the control of transcription initiation.
But gene expression can be controlled after
transcription, with mechanisms such as:
RNA interference
alternative splicing
RNA editing
mRNA degradation
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Posttranscriptional Regulation
Introns are spliced out of pre-mRNAs to
produce the mature mRNA that is
translated.
Alternative splicing recognizes different
splice sites in different tissue types.

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Posttranscriptional Regulation
Introns are spliced out of pre-mRNAs to
produce the mature mRNA that is
translated.
Alternative splicing recognizes different
splice sites in different tissue types.
The mature mRNAs in each tissue possess
different exons, resulting in different
polypeptide products from the same gene.
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46
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Posttranscriptional Regulation
Mature mRNA molecules have various
half-lives depending on the gene and the
location (tissue) of expression.
The amount of polypeptide produced from
a particular gene can be influenced by the
half-life of the mRNA molecules.

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Translational and Posttranslational Regulation

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Translational Regulation

Post- Translational Regulation

Figure 7-59 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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Protein Degradation

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Protein Degradation
Proteins are produced and degraded
continually in the cell.
Proteins to be degraded are tagged with
ubiquitin.
Degradation of proteins marked with
ubiquitin occurs at the proteasome.

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Figure 7-5 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

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