How Transcription Factors Control Gene Activity

Transcription factors control gene activity by helping turn genes on or off. They are proteins that bind to specific DNA sequences and influence whether a gene is copied into RNA.

Some transcription factors act as activators. Others act as repressors. Activators help increase transcription, while...

In eukaryotic cells, transcription factors are proteins that can bind to DNA and regulate the expression of genes. In order to initiate transcription, each RNA polymerase requires several different proteins, called general transcription factors, to bind to promoter regions. For example, the first and largest of these proteins, called TFIID, will...