Trans-regulatory elements are gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

s which may modify (or regulate

Regulation of gene expression

Gene modulation redirects here. For information on therapeutic regulation of gene expression, see therapeutic gene modulation.Regulation of gene expression includes the processes that cells and viruses use to regulate the way that the information in genes is turned into gene products...

) the expression of distant genes. More specifically, trans-regulatory elements are DNA sequences that encode transcription factor

Transcription factor

In molecular biology and genetics, a transcription factor is a protein that binds to specific DNA sequences, thereby controlling the flow of genetic information from DNA to mRNA...

s.

Trans-regulatory elements work through an intermolecular

Intermolecular force

Intermolecular forces are forces of attraction or repulsion which act between neighboring particles: atoms, molecules or ions. They are weak compared to the intramolecular forces, the forces which keep a molecule together...

 interaction between two different molecules: (1) a transcribed

Transcription (genetics)

Transcription is the process of creating a complementary RNA copy of a sequence of DNA. Both RNA and DNA are nucleic acids, which use base pairs of nucleotides as a complementary language that can be converted back and forth from DNA to RNA by the action of the correct enzymes...

 and translated transcription factor protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 derived from the trans-regulatory element and a (2) DNA regulatory element

Regulatory sequence

A regulatory sequence is a segment of DNA where regulatory proteins such as transcription factors bind preferentially. These regulatory proteins bind to short stretches of DNA called regulatory regions, which are appropriately positioned in the genome, usually a short distance 'upstream' of the...

 that is adjacent to the regulated gene. This is in contrast to cis-regulatory element

Cis-regulatory element

A cis-regulatory element or cis-element is a region of DNA or RNA that regulates the expression of genes located on that same molecule of DNA . This term is constructed from the Latin word cis, which means "on the same side as". These cis-regulatory elements are often binding sites for one or...

s that work through an intramolecular

Intramolecular force

An intramolecular force is any force that holds together the atoms making up a molecule or compound.-Types of intramolecular force:There are three main types of intramolecular force:*Ionic*Covalent*Metallic...

interaction between different parts of the same molecule: (1) a gene and (2) an adjacent regulatory element for that gene in the same DNA molecule.