Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Gene structure, expression and
regulation in eukaryotes
- Eukaryotic Gene
Structure
- Monocistronic - Each
protein is coded for by a
single separate gene
- Advantage -
Flexible and
Resilient
- Disadvantage
- Complex
- Promoter
- Controls
expression level
and timing
- Enhancers
- Coding
region
- Nucleotides
encoding
peptide or
RNA
- Exon
- poly(A) site
- mRNA
stability
- Expression Level
- Splice
sites
- Isoforms
- Non coding regions
- Introns
- Help
create
genetic
diversity
- Transcription
- Occurs in Nucleus
- Transcription Units
- Simple
- 1 mRNA = 1 protein
- Mutation along
entire length
will impact
protein
- Complex
- Encodes for multiple
proteins through the use of
Alternative Splicing
- Alternative in/exclusion
- Diff composition e.g. Fibronectin
- Alternative Promoters
- Diff timing e.g. Pax6,
Diff N termini, Diff
strength of
expression
- Alternative poly(A) sites
- Different C-termini - Heavy chain IgM
- 3 different polymerases
- Initiation
- Promoter Recognition accessory
proteins bind to promoter
sequence promoter sequence
--> recruitment of > recruitment
of specific RNA polymerase
- Accessory Proteins
- General Transcription Factors
- Bind to core promoter to assemble
Basal Transcription Apparatus (BTA)
- BTA includes TFs, mediator
complex and RNA pol II for
minimal transcription
- Core - immediately upstream of transcription start site
- Transcriptional Activator
Proteins
- Bind to specific DNA sequences (regulatory,
promoter, enhancers, etc) to stimulate
assembly of BTA
- Leads to increased transcription
- Allows regulation in
response to different stimuli
- Regulatory promoter is further upstream
TAPs bind to DNA sequences then
interacts with BTA, influences the rate of
transcription initiation
- Includes enhancer region that is even
further upstream
- TFIID binds to TATA box in core promoter
- Then TFs and RNA pol II bind to core promoter
- TAPs bind to sequences in enhancers
- DNA loops out allowing the proteins bound to
the enhancer to interact with BTA
- TAP bind to sequences in the regulatory promoter
and interact with BTA through the mediator
- Elongation
- After 30 bp of mRNA After 30 bp of mRNA synthesis
Pol leaves synthesis Pol leaves promoter and TF
promoter and TF behind
- 8 nucleotides of RNA 8 nucleotides of RNA
remains paired with remains paired with DNA
- Termination
- RNA pol II transcribes
well past the coding
region of many genes
- Cleavage is near 3'
end of RNA, while
RNA pol II keeps
transcribing
- The RAT1 exonuclease attaches to the 5' end of the trailing
RNA and moves towards the RNA pol degrading the RNA as it
goes along
- When RAT1 reaches the pol transcription is terminated
- Translation
- Occurs in
Cytoplasm
- Initiation
- Small subunit binds to 5’ cap and scans mRNA for start
codon Kozak sequence aids recognition
- Initiation complex recognises 5' Cap
- Initiation Complex - small subunit, IF, initiator tRNA (Met small subunit, IF, initiator
tRNA (Met--tRNA
- Start codon = AUG
- requires at least 7 IF (function: separation
of SU of requires at least 7 IF (function:
separation of SU of Ribosome,
recognition of 5’ cap, RNA helicase
activity, Ribosome, recognition of 5’ cap,
RNA helicase activity, recruitment
Met-tRNA
- poly(A) - bound proteins interact with 5' cap -
enhances binding of small subunit at 5' of
mRNA
- Eukaryotic Ribsomes - Bigger and more complex than
complex than prokaryotes but prokaryotes but same
structure and same structure and function
- Elongation
- at least 3 elongation least 3 elongation
factors equivalent to prokaryotic factors
equivalent to prokaryotic EFs
- eeF2 - translocation
- Termination
- Similar to prokaryotes
- eRF1 - recognises termination codons
- eRF2 GTP, stimulates release of polypeptide from ribosome
- RNA processing
- RNA molecules are
processed before
leaving Nucleus
- Includes
removal of parts
of the primary
transcript
- Addition of 5' cap
- 5' cap functions include -
Increases the stability of the
transcript •Is recognised by
the ribosome to begin
translation •Has a role in
transport of the mRNA from
the nucleus to the
cytoplasm
- RNA editing
- RNA splicing
- takes place in nucleus
- order of exons in
DNA is usually
maintained
- Occurs at short
conserved
sequences
- Proceeds via two sequential trans-esterification reactions
- Catalysed by a spliceosome
- The spliceosome consists of: -5 small RNA
molecules called snRNAs: U1, U2, U4, U5, U6.
-Proteins.
- Each snRNA interacts with specific proteins to form snRNPs (small
nuclear riboproteins, or snurps)
- Exceptions to normal splicing
- Trans-splicing (e.g. nematodes and
trypanosomes) joining of exons from
different mRNAs
- minor splicing: different consensus sequences and
different spliceosome composition
- Self-splicing introns (e.g. protists,
mitochondria): remove themselves (no
other enzyme/protein)
- 3' cleavage and
addition of poly(A)
tail
- pre-mRNA is
transcribed with a
consensus
sequence
- pre-mRNA is cleaved 11-30 bp upstream of consensus
sequence - this cleave site contains a u rich sequence
- poly(A) tail is added through polyadenylation
- Functions of poly(A) tail include increasing stability and
acting as a timer. Also is recognised in protein synthesis
(attachment of ribosome)
- Gene
regulation
- mRNA degradation control
- legnth of poly(A) tail controls stability and acts as a timer
- cleavage inside mRNA
- 3’->5’ removal
nucleotide
- removal of 5’ CAP, 5’->3’
removal nucleotid
- 5’UTR, CDR, 3‘UTR can affect
mRNA stability
- RNA interferecne
- Dicer
- RNA Induced Silencing
Complex (RISC)
- pairing with complementary sequence of mRNA -> cleavage of mRNA
- 4 possible outcomes
- Cleavage of mRNA
- Double stranded RNA is cleaved by dicer enzyme to
produce small interfereing RNAs (siRNAs)
- siRNAs combine with RISC complex and pair with complementary
sequences of mRNA
- Complex cleaves mRNA and afterwards the RNA is degraded
- Inhibition of translation
- miRNAs produced then combine with
RISC and pair imperfectly to an mRNA,
which leads to inhibition of translation
- Transcriptional silencing
- miRNAs bind to comp sequences and
attract methylating enzymes, this
mehtylates the DNA or histones
inhibiting (silencing) transcription
- Degradation of mRNA
- Translation Control
- e.g. T cells activation mRNA already there,
increase in available initiation factors for
translation -> IF allow ribosomes to bind to
mRNA -> TRANSLATION
- RNA Processing Control
- Alternative splicing
- e.e sexual phenotype in drosophila
- In males upstream splice site used - premature stop codon so no functional protein is produced - and in females
sxl protein causes downstream splice site to be used - stop codon is spliced out alongside intron
and tra protein normally produced
- Transcriptional Control
- Transcriptional Repressors
- - Bind to silencers: can be some distance from
regulated gene, position and orientation
independent they compete with activators
- may bind to sites near activator site ->
prevents contact of activator with BTA
- Directly interfere with assembly of BTA
- Enhancers stimulate any promoter in vicinity
- Insulators block effect on
promoters nearby, some also
limit spread of
de/condensation of chromatin
- Transcriptional Stalling
- transcription for few bp, then pause until external stimulus is encountere
- e.g. Heat shock in drosophila
- Coordinated Gene Regulation - certain genes activated by same stimulus -> response element (same
regulatory sequence, that provides binding sites for transcriptional activators
- single gene can be activated by
several different response
elements - > activation through
different stimuli
- One stimulus can be activated by several
genes --> presence of same response
element
- Combinatorial Gene Control
- e.g. ey gene in drosophila
- Protein activity control
- Effects transport, function and activity
- RNA Transport and localisation control
- Transport mRNA across nuclear envelope
- poly(A) and 5' cap involved
- Epigenetics
- changes in phenotype or gene
expression by mechanisms other
than changes in the underlying DNA
sequence
- may be continuous over lifespan of cell
or even hereditary
- Chromatin remodelling
- Histone modification - A combination of diff molecules attach to tail
of histone molecule. These alter the activity of the DNA surrounding
them
- Can make oncogenes more active
- DNA methylation
- Methyl marks added to certain bases represses gene activity
- e.g. Gene silencing by adding methyl group to cytosine
- Can play a role in cancer by silencing
tumour suppresor genes
- Plays a role in development - cell differentiation
- Epigenetic reprogramming = Reproductive cells: specialised cells, lots of epigenetic tags most
epigenetic tags removed in early embryo, so that cells can form every type of cell in body: “blank
slate"
- Some genes escape this reprogramming - Epigenetic inheritence