Trans-regulatory element
Trans-regulatory elements are genes which may modify the expression of distant genes. More specifically, trans-regulatory elements are DNA sequences that encode trans-acting factors.
Trans-regulatory elements work through an intermolecular interaction between two different molecules and so are said to be "acting in trans". For example a transcribed and translated transcription factor protein derived from the trans-regulatory element; and a DNA regulatory element that is adjacent to the regulated gene. This is in contrast to cis-regulatory elements that work through an intramolecular interaction between different parts of the same molecule: a gene; and an adjacent regulatory element for that gene in the same DNA molecule.
Examples of trans-acting factors include the genes for:
