Introduction The Transcription Complex Basic Cis-acting Sequences Enhancers and Silencers Methylation Trans-acting Factors Signaling Control of Transcription Hormonal Control of Gene Expression Signal Transduction Pathways Study Questions Control of Gene Expression in Eukaryotes WWW Links Genetic Topics

Signaling Control of Transcription Often transcription is activated when a molecule binds to a protein. What happens next is that bound protein undergoes a change that eventually results in the activation of transcription. The molecule that binds is called a ligand, and the protein that binds the protein is called the receptor protein. Ligands can be small molecules such as protein that pass through the cell membrane and activate transcription, or they can be protein molecules that can not move through the cell membrane and must find a receptor protein that resides in the cell membrane. We will discuss each of these models for gene expression. Copyright © 1997. Phillip McClean