Introductory Chapter: A Brief Overview of Transcriptional and Post-transcriptional Regulation

Abstract

The regulation of gene expression is the process by which expression of genes is controlled (induced or repressed) at the cell level in a particular time under a particular condition. It is a fundamental process to diverse other biological processes that occur within the cell including cell development and differentiation, the response and the adaptation to environmental stresses. Gene regulation has classically been viewed as the interaction between proteins to regulatory elements located at the vicinity of the transcription start site within promoters. However, gene regulation is a more complex process that involves additional layers of control including chromatin remodeling, nucleosome positioning, histone modifications, DNAbinding regulatory proteins such as transcription factors and noncoding RNA [1–3]. Such process requires structural and chemical changes to the genetic material, binding of proteins to specific DNA elements to regulate transcription, or mechanisms that modulate translation of mRNA.