An EMSA can be used to determine if a transcription factor is bound to DNA?

Question

true or false?

I think its true since EMSA is similar to Elisa where its also an enzyme and is bound to DNA.

Answer 1

Hi Flake,

You are correct, the statement is true. An EMSA examines physical interactions between protein and DNA that result in a shift on a gel compared to naked DNA. Transcription factors are proteins that often bind to DNA so this would be an ideal assay to examine whether a transcription factor binds to a DNA sequence of interest.