Enhancer

By Riya Gohil

(noun. /in-HAN-ser/) 

What does it mean? 

An enhancer is a segment of DNA that increases the transcription of a particular gene. Transcription is the process of reading a gene to create a functional product. Enhancers are usually positioned before the start of a gene and a single enhancer can have multiple genes it can potentially regulate. 

How do I use it in a sentence?

“We have discovered an enhancer about 50,000 base pairs away from GeneX that increases the transcription levels of GeneX.” 

Image depicts the transcription, or gene expression, levels of Gene X with and without an enhancer. Enhancer is shown to increase Gene X expression. Image created with Biorender by Riya Gohil.

Fields of study in which this word is commonly used

Genetics 

Biology

Related terms

Genes

Genome 

Coding DNA 

Noncoding DNA 

Regulatory elements 

Insulators 

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