Difference between revisions of "Promoters and Reporters in Synthetic Biology"
(*/Promoters and Reporters in Synthetic Biology*/) |
m (→Promoters and Reporters in Synthetic Biology) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | + | ||
= What Are Promoters and Reporters? = | = What Are Promoters and Reporters? = | ||
Revision as of 13:41, 20 November 2007
What Are Promoters and Reporters?
Promoters and reporters are genes used in engineering gene circuits. Promoters are DNA sequences located upstream of a gene; they provide binding sites for transcription factors and, eventually, RNA polymerase, allowing genes to be transcribed. If a promoter is being repressed, then transcription cannot occur as RNA polymerase will not have a place to bind.
Reporters are not as specific as promoters; they are genes that convey some easily-identifiable and measurable characteristic when they are transcribed, such as fluorescence or beta-galactoside proteins. Reporters are generally attached to other gene sequences so the scientist has a way of knowing if the gene is being transcribed - if the reporter is being transcribed, one can assume that the gene of interest is being transcribed as well.
