Question

In an experimental in vitro system the promoter for a human heat inducible gene was tested by the addition of heat shock transcription factor (HSF) mutant proteins. As a negative control, one of the promoter constructs only contained 50 bp of upstream sequences (not enough to included the HSF binding site).

How would you characterize the transcription obtained from the control template?

- repressed
- silenced
-activated
- basal
-inducible

Answer 1

The transcription obtained from the control template containing only 50 bp of upstream sequences would be basal, resulting in a low level of transcription.

Step-by-step explanation:

The transcription obtained from the control template containing only 50 bp of upstream sequences (not enough to include the HSF binding site) would be basal.

In this case, the minimal promoter sequence that is present can still bind to the general transcription factors, allowing for a low level of transcription to occur. However, without the HSF binding site, the heat inducible gene would not be activated, resulting in a basal level of transcription.