Gene Technology

Abstract

Cis Regulatory Elements in Regulation of Plant Gene Expression: An Overview

Rajesh Mehrotra, Chetna Sangwan, Zaiba Hasan Khan and Sandhya Mehrotra

Gene expression is an extensively controlled process that occurs at various levels, transcription being one of the most crucial. It depends on a variety of interactions mediated by the core promoter region, sequence specific DNA binding proteins and their cognate promoter elements. Promoters comprise cis regulatory elements, clusters of short sequences that provide binding sites for transcription factors. According to PLACE database, there are 469 cis regulatory elements present in plants. The ACGT core sequence has been established as a functionally important cis element in several promoters that respond to different stimuli like light, anaerobiosis, jasmonic acid and hormones such as salicylic acid, abscisic acid and auxin.