The Biophysics of Developmentally Regulated Gene Transcription

基因转录的起始被认为是多细胞生物发育中最具影响力的控制点。在基因激活的最简单版本中，特定的转录因子与靶基因控制区的短DNA序列（6- 12bps）结合，然后以某种方式招募RNA聚合酶II及其辅助蛋白的庞大生化机制，从而启动转录。所有这些都发生在“染色质”的环境中，具有可能的辅因子，差异修饰的组蛋白和潜在的定位核小体。我们将重点关注基因激活的所有重要的早期步骤，其中单个控制转录因子与其在靶基因调控区域的结合位点相互作用。我们的目标是用纯化的成分进行精确的生物物理测量

Initiation of gene transcription is arguably the most influential control point in the development of a multicellular organism. In the simplest version of gene activation, a specific transcription factor binds to a short DNA sequence (6-12 bps) in the control region of a target gene and then somehow recruits the vast biochemical machinery of RNA Polymerase II and its auxiliary proteins, thereby initiating transcription. All of this occurs in an environment of “chromatin”, featuring possible cofactors, differentially modified histones and potentially positioned nucleosomes. We will focus on the all-important early step of gene activation in which a single controlling transcription factor interacts with its binding site in the regulatory region of a target gene. Our goal is to relate precise biophysical measurements made with purified components