In molecular biology and genetics, a transcription factor (sometimes called a sequence-specific DNA-binding factor) is a protein that binds to specific DNA sequences, thereby controlling the flow (or transcription) of genetic information from DNA to mRNA. Transcription factors perform this function alone or with other proteins in a complex, by promoting (as an activator), or blocking (as a repressor) the recruitment of RNA polymerase (the enzyme that performs the transcription of genetic information from DNA to RNA) to specific genes.
A defining feature of transcription factors is that they contain one or more DNA-binding domains (DBDs), which attach to specific sequences of DNA adjacent to the genes that they regulate. Additional proteins such as coactivators, chromatin remodelers, histone acetylases, deacetylases, kinases, and methylases, while also playing crucial roles in gene regulation, lack DNA-binding domains, and, therefore, are not classified as transcription factors.
| Transcription factor glossary |
|---|
| • transcription – copying of DNA by RNA polymerase into RNA |
| • factor – a substance, such as a protein, that contributes to the cause of a specific biochemical reaction or bodily process |
| • transcriptional regulation – controlling the rate of gene transcription for example by helping or hindering RNA polymerase binding to DNA |
| • upregulation, activation, or promotion – increase the rate of gene transcription |
| • downregulation, repression, or suppression – decrease the rate of gene transcription |
| • coactivator – a protein that works with transcription factors to increase the rate of gene transcription |
| • corepressor – a protein that works with transcription factors to decrease the rate of gene transcription |
Read more about Transcription Factor: Conservation in Different Organisms, Mechanism, Function, Regulation, Structure, Clinical Significance, Analysis, Classes
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