title: Chromatin and DNA sequences in defining promoters for transcription initiation.
abstract: One of the key events in eukaryotic gene regulation and consequent transcription is the assembly of general transcription factors and RNA polymerase II into a functional pre-initiation complex at core promoters. An emerging view of complexity arising from a variety of promoter associated DNA motifs, their binding factors and recent discoveries in characterising promoter associated chromatin properties brings an old question back into the limelight: how is a promoter defined? In addition to position-dependent DNA sequence motifs, accumulating evidence suggests that several parallel acting mechanisms are involved in orchestrating a pattern marked by the state of chromatin and general transcription factor binding in preparation for defining transcription start sites. In this review we attempt to summarise these promoter features and discuss the available evidence pointing at their interactions in defining transcription initiation in developmental contexts. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Chromatin and epigenetic regulation of animal development.
authors.affiliation: School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK. Electronic address: f.mueller@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Cellular Signaling and Nuclear Dynamics Program, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), UMR 7104 CNRS, UdS, INSERM U964, BP 10142, F-67404 Illkirch Cedex, CU de Strasbourg, France; School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, 637551, Singapore. Electronic address: laszlo@igbmc.fr.
authors.forename: Làszlò
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tora
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly / Q000502:physiology*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020218:Response Elements / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D061785:Transcription Initiation, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D014157:Transcription Factors; D012319:RNA Polymerase II
keywords: Core promoter; CpG island; Epigenetic mark; Nucleosome depleted region; RNA polymerase II; Transcription initiation