Final answer:
Enhancers are regulatory elements that can increase the rate of gene transcription by interacting with specific transcription factors and the gene's promoter, regardless of their distance from the gene.
Step-by-step explanation:
The elements referred to in the question are known as enhancers. Enhancers are critical regulatory elements in the process of gene expression. They are located at various distances from the RNA polymerase binding site, and they can be found upstream or downstream of it, within the coding region of a gene, or on other chromosomes. By binding to specific transcription factors, enhancers can greatly increase the rate of transcription of a gene by facilitating the interaction between these factors and the gene's promoter, despite their often considerable distance from the gene they regulate.