Experimental demonstration of regulatory protein interactions with the sequences upstream of potential target genes is an important element in gene expression studies. These experiments termed electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) provide valuable insight into the mechanism of action of transcription factors. EMSAs combined with downstream applications such as transcriptional analysis help uncover precisely how regulatory proteins control target gene expression. This chapter comprises a guideline for expression and purification of recombinant transcription factor proteins followed by a detailed protocol for EMSAs.
Keywords: Electrophoretic mobility shift assay; Gene regulation; Promoter; Transcription regulator.