Question

RNA pol II promoters: Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) HDAC-containing complexes are involved in repression and bind (usually through other proteins) with silencer elements.
B) Basal transcription factors bind at the core promoter, usually within 50 bp upstream from the start of transcription.
C) Basal elements can either be located just downstream of the startpoint for transcription, or within the first intron.
D) Enhancers are a collection of individual promoter elements that bind transactivators.
E) Enhancers are sometimes located thousands of bp upstream or downstream of the startpoint of transcription.

Answer 1

The FALSE statement regarding RNA pol II promoters is (D) - Enhancers are not a collection of individual promoter elements that bind transactivators, but are distinct elements that can be located far from the promoter.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks which statement about RNA pol II promoters is FALSE.


To address this, let's review each statement:

• (A) This statement is true. HDAC-containing complexes repress transcription and can bind with silencer elements.
  
  
• (B) Also true. Basal transcription factors often bind at the core promoter, near the transcription start site.
  
  
• (C) This statement is true. Basal elements can indeed be located just downstream of the transcription startpoint or within the first intron.
  
  
• (D) This is the FALSE statement. Enhancers are not a collection of individual promoter elements. They are distinct from promoters and have their own specific binding sequences for transcription factors. Enhancers can be located far from the promoter and still influence transcription via DNA looping.
  
  
• (E) True. Enhancers can be located thousands of bp upstream or downstream of the gene's transcription startpoint.

Thus, the correct answer is (D) - Enhancers are not a collection of individual promoter elements that bind transactivators.