Transcription factors are proteins that regulate transcription by binding to DNA. In a general sense, they turn genes on or off, or somewhere in between.
transcription factors bind to DNA with varying specificity. This specificity is defined as a motif.
[Human transcription factors](./The-Human-Transcription-Factors_cell.pdf)❌
Genetic loci where TF occupancy level (e.g. ChIP-seq) is significantly associated with a genetic variant.
PU.1 is a Transcription Factor that activates genes during immune cell development. It is coded for by the SPI1 gene.
Histones are proteins that make up chromatin along with DNA. Histones control DNA accessibility, that is, the ability for DNA sequences to be bound by TFs.
Motifs can be used to identify relationships between different proteins or Transcription Factors that bind to DNA.
One of the goals of ChIP-seq analysis is to find a unique DNA Motif associated with each protein binding site. It is assumed that a Transcription Factor binds to a semi-unique sequence on the genome. By identification of the unique motif, one can associate the bound transcription factor to the unique motif.