Transcription and Gene Regulation Resources on
HHMI’s BioInteractive
Lectures
Lecture: Genetics of Human Origins and Adaptation, Sarah Tishkoff, PhD, 2011 Holiday Lectures on Science
(http://media.hhmi.org/hl/11Lect2.html
). Sarah Tishkoff discusses the evolutionary history of modern humans based on genetic
analysis and lactase persistence as an example of a recent human adaptation.
Lecture: Understanding Embryonic Stem Cells, Douglas Melton, PhD, 2006 Holiday Lectures on Science
(http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/understanding-embryonic-stem-cells
). An overview of embryonic development, the
progressive differentiation of cells, and properties of embryonic stem cells.
Short Films
Short Film: Got Lactase? The Co-Evolution of Genes and Culture (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/making-fittest-got-
lactase-co-evolution-genes-and-culture). Human geneticist Spencer Wells, director of the Genographic Project of the National
Geographic Society, tracks down the genetic changes associated with the ability to digest lactose as adults.
Short Film: Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies
(http://media.hhmi.org/biointeractive/films/Evolving_Switches_Evolving_Bodies.html
). After the end of the last ice age 10,000 years
ago, populations of marine stickleback fish became stranded in freshwater lakes dotted throughout the Northern Hemisphere in
places of natural beauty like Alaska and British Columbia. These remarkable little fish have adapted and thrive, living permanently in
a freshwater environment drastically different than the ocean.
Interactive Tutorials (Click and Learns)
Click and Learn: Genetic Switches (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/genetic-switches). Learn how gene switches can control
expression of genes in different tissues.
Click and Learn: Regulation of the Lactase Gene (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/regulation-lactase-gene). Lactase
persistence results from a mutation that changes how transcription factors interact, thereby affecting gene expression.
Animations
Animation: Regulation of Eukaryotic DNA Transcription
(http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/evolution/dna_transcription_regulation.html
). Learn how general transcription factors,
activators, and repressors interact to regulate the transcription of eukaryotic DNA into RNA.
Animation: DNA Transcription (basic detail) (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/dna-transcription-basic-detail). The first
phase of the process of reading DNA information to make proteins starts with a molecule unzipping the DNA. The molecule then
copies one of the strands of DNA into a strand of RNA, a close cousin of DNA. This process is called transcription.
Animation: DNA Transcription (advanced detail) (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/dna-transcription-advanced-detail). The
process of copying DNA into messenger RNA (mRNA) is called transcription. Transcription factors assemble at the promoter region of
a gene, bringing an RNA polymerase enzyme to form the transcription initiation complex. Activator proteins at the enhancer region
of DNA then activate the transcription initiation complex. RNA polymerase unzips a small portion of the DNA and copies one strand
into an mRNA molecule.
Animation: Signal Molecules Trigger Transcription Factors (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/signal-molecules-trigger-
transcription-factors).Varying concentrations of a signaling molecule activate different transcription factors and determine cell fate.
Animation: The Molecular Cascade in Bacterial Quorum Sensing (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/molecular-cascade-
bacterial-quorum-sensing). Quorum sensing regulates gene expression by a protein phosphorylation cascade that controls
transcription.
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Animation: The LUX Operon Controls Light Production (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/lux-operon-controls-light-
production). A single transcription factor controls this operon, which contains five genes necessary to produce bioluminescence.
Animation: MECP2 (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/mecp2). Methyl C-p-G binding protein 2 (MeCP2) regulates gene
expression.
Animation: p53 (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/p53). A 3D animation showing the molecule p53 binds to DNA and
initiates the transcription of mRNA.
Animation: Molecular activity in Aplysia long-term memory (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/molecular-activity-aplysia-
long-term-memory). Long-term memory requires the activation of CREB, turning on specific genes to support new synaptic growth.
Animation: Molecular basis of late LTP (long-term memory) (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/molecular-basis-late-ltp-
long-term-memory).Late LTP (long-term memory) involves dopamine activation of CREB to support new synaptic growth.
Classroom Activities
Classroom Activity: Modeling the Regulatory Switches of the Pitx1 Gene in Stickleback Fish
(http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/modeling-regulatory-switches-pitx1-gene-stickleback-fish
). A hands-on activity in which
students interpret molecular diagrams and build physical models of eukaryotic gene regulation.
Virtual Labs
Virtual Lab: Stickleback Evolution (https://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/stickleback-evolution-virtual-lab). The Stickleback
Evolution Virtual Lab will introduce you to the science and techniques used to analyze the forms and structures of organisms—in
particular, the pelvic structures of the threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus). The lab includes three experiments in
which you will collect and analyze data using photographs of living fish specimens and fossils.
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