transcription factors
What transcription factors means in Biology A-Level, as defined for AQA, OCR.
Definitions of transcription factors
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Reference: AQA
These activate only specific genes, so that eukaryotic cells become specialised for specific functions.
Proteins that bind to the promoter region of a gene, allowing RNA polymerase to begin transcription.
Bind to a gene's promoter region, enabling RNA polymerase to transcribe that gene into mRNA.
Proteins encoded by homeobox genes that bind DNA and switch target genes on or off.
Topics that use transcription factors
- Most of a cell’s DNA is not translated (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
- Structure of eukaryotic cells (AQA A-Level)
- Cellular control (OCR A-Level)
Related terms
- differentiation
- Balance of cell gain and loss
- cell specialisation
- cellular differentiation
- Conservation
- Development of body form
- Effect of mutations on protein function and production
- epigenetic silencing
Using transcription factors in the exam
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