Enhancer

An enhancer is a cis-regulatory DNA sequence that increases transcription from a target gene, often by binding transcription factors and contacting a promoter over a distance.

Transcription factor: A protein that binds specific DNA sequences or other proteins to regulate gene expression. Enhancers recruit transcription factors whose combinations help determine when and where a gene is transcribed.
Cis-regulatory element: A DNA sequence that regulates expression of genes on the same DNA molecule. Enhancers are one class of cis-regulatory element.
Enhancer trap: A genetic reporter method that uses nearby enhancer activity to drive expression of an inserted reporter gene. Enhancer traps use local enhancer activity to reveal patterns of gene regulation.
Enhancer–promoter specificity: The selective compatibility through which enhancers regulate particular promoters rather than other nearby genes. A major challenge is predicting which promoter a given enhancer actually controls.
Enhanceosome: A cooperative assembly of transcription factors on DNA that regulates transcription. Some enhancers act through precisely arranged transcription factors assembled into an enhanceosome.
Silencer (DNA): A DNA regulatory sequence that reduces transcription of a target gene. Silencers regulate transcription in the opposite direction from enhancers.
Reporter gene: A gene whose measurable product is used to track the activity of a regulatory sequence or gene. Reporter constructs test whether a DNA region can drive enhancer-like expression.
Super-enhancer: A large cluster of active regulatory elements associated with high levels of transcription-factor occupancy and gene expression. The biological meaning and boundaries of unusually dense enhancer clusters remain debated.
Mediator complex: A multiprotein complex that connects transcription regulators with RNA polymerase II and the transcription machinery. Mediator can relay enhancer-bound regulators to transcription machinery at a target gene.
Insulator (genetics): A DNA element that can limit regulatory interactions between genomic regions or protect against chromatin effects. Insulators can restrict which promoters an enhancer is able to influence.

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