EUKARYOTIC GENE

REGULATION
Chapter 19.1-19.2

Outline
Chromatin packing
Differential gene expression in eukaryotes
By regulating chromatin structure
By regulating transcription initiation
By modifying mRNA
By regulating translation initiation
By modifying proteins

Differential gene expression in eukaryotes

Gene regulation can happen at any stage, but transcription is

the key!
Regulation of gene expression can happen due to
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Regulating chromatin structure.

Regulating transcription initiation.
Modifying mRNA.
Regulating translation initiation.
Modifying proteins.

Note: these are

listed in the order
that they may
occur.

Chromatin packing
In eukaryotes, the DNA is associated with proteins. This

protein-DNA complex is called chromatin.

Histones: proteins that help pack DNA into protein.
Note: histone proteins are highly conserved throughout all
eukaryotes.
Nucleosome: the histone DNA complex

Chromatin packing
Histone tails interact with one

another
Tightly packed histones =
heterochromatin
Note: tightly packed histones

prevent transcription enzymes

from accessing the DNA
sequence, so these genes are
generally not transcribed.
Loosely packed histones =

euchromatin

Differential gene expression in eukaryotes

Cell differentiation:

cells undergo a process

of specialization in form
and function. This
requires certain genes
to be expressed or not
expressed (differential
gene expression).
Thus, differential gene
expression causes
cell differentiation!

Regulating by modifying chromatin

structure
Remember, tightly packed chromatin (heterochromatin) is

not accessible to transcription machinery. Loosely packed

chromatin (euchromatin) is accessible to transcription
machinery, so those gene products can be made.

Regulating by modifying chromatin

structure

How do cells pack/unpack histones?

1.

Histone acetylation
Adding acetyl groups to histones causes them loosen up.

The acetyl groups prevent interactions between histone tails.

This makes the DNA accessible for transcription.
Removing acetyl groups (deacetylation) causes histones to
pack up, making the DNA inaccessible for transcription.

Regulating by modifying chromatin

structure
How do cells pack/unpack histones?
1.

Histone acetylation
Adding acetyl groups to histones causes them loosen up. This

makes the DNA accessible for transcription.

Removing acetyl groups (deacetylation) causes histones to
pack up, making the DNA inaccessible for transcription.
2.

Histone methylation
Adding methyl groups condenses the chromatin. This makes

the DNA inaccessible for transcription.

Demethylating chromatin makes it accessible for transcription.
Methylation is passed down from parents to offspringconserved throughout DNA Replication in interphase

Regulation by modifying transcription initiation

Transcription factors: proteins that help RNA polymerase

bind to the promoter.

Transcription factors present: RNA polymerase can bind, gene is

expressed.
Transcription factors not present: RNA polymerase cannot bind (or
only does so rarely), gene is not expressed.

11

Regulation by modifying transcription initiation

Enhancers
Activator proteins bind to a segment of DNA upstream from the
promoter. This segment is called an enhancer.
The enhancer w/ bound activators then can associate with other
transcription factors to facilitate binding of the RNA polymerase.

Regulation by modifying transcription initiation

Coordinately Controlled Genes

Some genes with related functions need to

be turned on or off at the same time- we

call these co-expressed genes.
Coordinately controlled genes: some coexpressed genes are clustered near each
other on same chromosome but more often
they are scattered over different chromosomes
requires need for control elements
sequences of DNA that bind to
activators at the same time.
This causes the simultaneous
transcription of the genes no matter
where they are

Regulation by modifying mRNA

Alternative mRNA splicing
Different mRNA molecules can be produced from the same

primary transcript, depending on which RNA segments are treated

as introns (and removed) and which are treated as exons.
mRNA degradation
Prokaryotic mRNAs are degraded by enzymes within a few

minutes of their synthesis.

Eukaryotic mRNA can produce many copies of a protein
microRNAs (miRNAs): single-stranded RNAs that bind to
complementary sequences in mRNA molecules.
A protein called dicer recognizes the double-stranded mRNA
complex and cuts it up.

Regulation by modifying translation initiation

Regulatory proteins: bind to the 5 untranslated region of

mRNA transcripts and keeps them from attaching to

ribosomes.
mRNAs that lack poly-A tails on the 3 end cant be
translated
Naturally found in cytoplasm of some eggs
After fertilization, poly-A tail is added and this enables
translation to begin.

Regulation by modifying proteins

The length of time a protein functions in a cell is regulated

by selective degradation.
Ubiquitin: protein that tags proteins, marking them for
destruction.
Proteasomes: proteins that recognized ubiquitin-tagged
proteins and degrades them.
Mutations in proteasomes can lead to cancer (ex: cyclin
not degraded so cell cycle is constitutively stimulated).