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Repressors need not trigger negative connotations. The relative merits of some kinds of repression in the human sphere can be argued. We may be interested in repressing some of our impulsive thoughts and behaviors for example, while long term repression of memories and emotion can have disastrous results. And in general, we do not view the repression of basic human rights at all kindly.
Inside living organisms however, the repression of genetic expression is often a beneficial thing. As exemplified in the Lac operon, a model of gene regulation made famous by its inclusion in most high-school and undergraduate biology curriculum, repression is sometimes essential. Along with promoters, repressor molecules, while attached to DNA, are finely tuned mediators of genetic transcription. Repressors can be finessed by our intracellular machinery in marvelous ways. When they malfunction, they can cause serious damage.
In this gallery, we explore the way repressors are imaged and imagined in science and art.
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"Repressor (Secretive)" courtesy Davidson Galleries; Seattle, WA: June 1999 exhibition of contemporary prints, © 1999 Mark Meyer. (Click on image to see more examples.) |
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1ADR P22 C2 Repressor (Amino-terminal DNA-binding Domain) From Molecules R Us, © National Institutes of Health. (Click on image to see more examples.) |
Groups of genes coding for related proteins are arranged in units known as operons. An operon consists of an operator, promoter, regulator, and structural genes. The regulator gene codes for a repressor protein that binds to the operator, obstructing the promoter (thus, transcription) of the structural genes . . . If the repressor protein is removed, transcription may occur.
- from Control of Gene Expression Web site, © 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, M.J. Farabee.
