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The mechanistic role of enhancer elements in eukaryotic transcription
Author(s) -
Jeang KuanTeh,
Khoury George
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.950080404
Subject(s) - enhancer , transcription (linguistics) , biology , gene , eukaryotic cell , transcription factor , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , computational biology , linguistics , philosophy
Enhancer elements are short stretches of nucleotides operationally defined by their cis‐acting ability to increase the transcription of nearby genes. They function relatively independently of position, orientation, and distance. Some show narrow tissue specificity while others permit constitutive expression in many different cell types. Although the first enhancer was described for simian virus 40 (SV40) more than five years ago, its mechanism of action has remained unclear. This review describes some of the models proposed to explain the physical role of enhancers in eukaryotic transcription.