Architectural and Functional Commonalities between Enhancers and Promoters

Abstract

With the explosion of genome-wide studies of regulated transcription, it has become clear that traditional definitions of enhancers and promoters need to be revisited. These control elements can now be characterized in terms of their local and regional architecture, their regulatory components, including histone modifications and associated binding factors, and their functional contribution to transcription. This Review discusses unifying themes between promoters and enhancers in transcriptional regulatory mechanisms.