Bioinformatics Analysis of DNA Alterations in Transcription Factor Binding Sites

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From the same DNA sequence, the body is able to generate a wide range of cells, such as brain or muscle. The differences between cell types are determined by which genes are active in each of them. Cells contain hundreds of thousands of regulatory regions scattered across DNA, and each gene is controlled by one or more of these regions. A gene’s activity is regulated by proteins––known as transcription factors––that recognize the gene’s regulatory regions and bind to specific DNA sequences at these locations. Recent methodological and technological advances in experimental procedures allow for the identification of the exact locations in DNA where transcription factors bind. However, it is still not possible to perform this type of assay for all >1,500 transcription factors.