Transcription factors are the molecules that the cell uses to interpret the genome: they possess sequence-specific DNA-binding activity, and either directly or indirectly influence the transcription of genes. In aggregate, transcription factors control gene expression and genome organization, and play a pivotal role in many aspects of physiology and evolution. This book provides a reference for major aspects of transcription factor function, encompassing a general catalogue of known transcription factor classes, origins and evolution of specific transcription factor types, methods for studying transcription factor binding sites in vitro, in vivo, and in silico, and mechanisms of interaction with chromatin and RNA polymerase.

Plant Transcription Factors: Evolutionary, Structural and Functional Aspects is the only publication that provides a comprehensive compilation of plant transcription factor families and their complex roles in plant biology. While the majority of information about transcription factors is based on mammalian systems, this publication discusses plant transcription factors, including the important aspects and unifying themes to understanding transcription factors and the important roles of particular families in specific processes. - Provides an entry point for transcription factor literature - Offers compilation of information into one single resource for rapid consultation on different plant transcription factor features - Integrates the knowledge about different transcription factors, along with cross-referencing - Provides information on the unique aspects surrounding plant transcription factors

Several general principles have emerged from the study of human transcription factors. First, germline mutations in genes encoding transcription factors result in malformation syndromes in which the development of multiple body structures is affected. Second, somatic mutations involving many of the same genes contribute to tumorigenesis. Third, transcriptional regulatory mechanisms demonstrate remarkable evolutionary conservation. Fourth, prenatal development and postnatal physiology are unified by the demonstration that a single transription factor can control the proliferation of progenitor cells during development and the expression within the differentiated cells of gene products that participate in specific physiologic responses. Transcription Factors and Human Disease presents the basic science of transcriptional regulation and then describes inherited human diseases attributable to mutations in DNA sequences encoding transcription factors or their cognate binding sites. The involvement of transcription factors in somatic cell genetic diseases (cancer) and epigenetic disease (teratogenesis) is briefly discussed. The effect of specific mutations on transcription factor activity and the relationship between transcriptional dysregulation, dominant or recessive inheritance patterns, and disease pathogenesis are also explored. This book thus provides a direct connection between molecular defects in transcriptional regulation and human pathophysiology.

A Top 25 CHOICE 2016 Title, and recipient of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title (OAT) Award. How much energy is released in ATP hydrolysis? How many mRNAs are in a cell? How genetically similar are two random people? What is faster, transcription or translation?Cell Biology by the Numbers explores these questions and dozens of others provid

The control of plant gene expression at the transcriptional level is the main subject of this volume. Genetics, molecular biology and gene technology have dramatically improved our knowledge of this event. The functional analysis of promoters and transcription factors provides more and more insights into the molecular anatomy of initiation complexes assembled from RNA polymerase and the multiplicity of helper and control proteins. Formation of specific DNA-protein complexes - activating or repressing transcription - is the crux of developmental or environmental control of gene expression. The book presents an up-to-date, critical overview of this rapidly advancing field.

Transcription Factor Regulatory Methods details various techniques ranging from cutting-edge to general techniques use to study transcription factor regulatory networks. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols and key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Transcription Factor Regulatory Methods aids scientists in the further study into post-genomic or the personal genomic era.

Now in two-colour throughout, the fourth edition of Eukaryotic Transcription Factors has been completely rewritten and restructured to take into account the tremendous advances in our understanding of transcription factors and the mechanisms by which they act. Considerable emphasis has been given to the interaction between transcription factors and chromatin structure. Also included is an entirely new section on the mediator complex and expansion of the space devoted to co-activators and co-repressors.This book is essential reading for all those who wish to understand the impact of molecular biology on medicine, whatever their speciality. - Major families of eukaryotic transcription factors described - Mechanisms of gene activation and repression analysed - Structure-function relationships indicated - Interaction between transcription factors and chromatin structure described - Roles in inducible and cell type-specific gene expression - Roles in development, differentiation and human diseases including cancer - Methods of study in vitro and in vivo

This SpringerBrief explores unconventional functions of eight different transcription factors and concludes with a discussion of their biological significance and impact, including effects on processes within the cell nucleaus during development and in adult organisms. Chapter One details unconventional functions of the transcription factors GAGA, HP1, Rb, STAT, ATF-2 and NF-kB. Surprisingly, all of these transcription factors can be found in association with heterochromatin as well as euchromatin, and in some cases unconventional functions have been demonstrated for these heterochromatin-associated factors. Chapter Two focuses on the unconventional functions of STAT and HP1 and discusses their roles in the promotion of longevity, and in protection from cancer and DNA damage. Chapter Three explores the biological significance of the findings presented in the first two chapters and considers how global changes in the epigenome brought about by factors such as STAT and HP1 might affect processes within the cell nucleus during development and in adult organisms. This succinct yet thorough SpringerBrief is essential for researchers studying epigenetics, and to instructors of the subject. It should also appeal to people interested in the control of gene transcription and other processes in the cell nucleus, and to those interested in development.

Since the publication of the first edition five years ago, a wide range of new methodologies have been developed to facilitate studies on both isolated parts of the genome and the genome as a whole. This new edition has been updated and expanded so that it provides a comprehensive guide to the methods currently available to characterize the function and activity of an individual transcription factor. All the original chapters have been fully updated or rewritten and additional chapters cover the use of in vitro transcription assays, analysis of chromatin structure, use of the genomic binding site assay and analysis of transcription factor modifications. As with the previous edition, the book starts with a series of chapters concerned with characterizing the proteins binding to a specific DNA sequence and then a chapter on more detailed characterization of the protein itself. The next two chapters describe the isolation of cDNA clones encoding a transcription factor using oligonucleotides predicted from protein sequence and screening of a cDNA expression library. Chapter 6 deals with identification of transcription factors based on sequence homology analysis by both experimental screening and database searches. Chapter 7 is a new chapter that describes methods of identifying the target genes of a previously uncharacterized factor. The next chapters deal with analysis of transcription factor function. Chapter 8 deals with general techniques, and then the following chapters cover the specialized techniques of in vitro transcription assays using transcriptionally active nuclear extracts derived from rat brain, and analysis of the effect of transcription factors on chromatin structure. The final chapter describes methods for detecting the phosphorylation and glycosylation state of transcription factors.