Identify what is not itself a transcription factor: motifs versus molecules in gene regulation

Introduction / Context:
Transcription factors are DNA-binding proteins that regulate gene expression by recognizing specific DNA motifs and recruiting or modulating the transcription machinery. Many are defined by conserved structural motifs that bind DNA.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Helix-turn-helix, zinc finger, leucine zipper, and basic helix–loop–helix denote protein motifs common to transcription factors.
• Steroid hormones (e.g., cortisol, estrogen, testosterone) are small lipid-soluble ligands, not DNA-binding proteins.

Concept / Approach:
While steroid receptors are ligand-activated transcription factors that bind DNA at hormone response elements, the steroid hormones themselves are signaling molecules. Thus, the hormone is not a transcription factor; it binds the receptor to modulate the receptor’s transcriptional activity.

Step-by-Step Solution:
List options that are protein motifs or families that bind DNA (HTH, zinc finger, leucine zipper, bHLH).Recognize that steroid hormones are ligands, not DNA-binding proteins.Select steroid hormones as the item that is not a transcription factor.

Verification / Alternative check:
Biochemical assays show steroid receptors (not the hormones) binding to DNA. Hormones remain diffusible small molecules without DNA-binding domains.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• HTH, zinc finger, leucine zipper, bHLH: Canonical DNA-binding TF motifs present in numerous regulators.

Common Pitfalls:
Conflating steroid hormones with their nuclear receptors; only the receptor is the transcription factor.

Final Answer:
Steroid hormones.