Transcription factor proteins are the light switches of the human genome. By binding to DNA, they help turn genes “on” or “off” and start the important process of copying DNA into an RNA template that acts as a blueprint for a new protein.
By being choosy about which genes they turn on, transcription factors determine which rooms in the house are lighted and which aren’t, or rather, which components of a person’s genome are activated.
A team of Duke researchers has found that transcription factors have a tendency to bind strongly to “mismatched” sections of DNA, sections of the code that were not copied correctly.
