According to McClean (1998), it consists of 3 main stages; the first one is the Initiation, which is the binding of RNA to the DNA. The RNA polymerase will bind at a sequence of DNA called the promoter. The second stage is the Elongation, which is the covalent addition of nucleotides to the end of the growing chain. Termination is the last stage and it is the end of the transcription sequence and the release of the RNA. The RNA polymerase is responsible for transcription, but it needs other proteins to produce the transcript. They are called transcription factors and are proteins that bind themselves to DNA and may be activated by hormones, or the lack there of. In certain female species, hormones may change transcription pathways and factors to affect hormonal status and reproduction. (Jahnke et al, 2004) Those are the negative aspects of transcription factors.

Transcriptions can be positive too, an example of which is the transcription factor encoded by the Sex-Determining Region Y gene, which is more commonly known as the Y chromosome, which plays a very crucial role in determining gender in humans. According to Nadadur et al, (2005), gene transcription may also be activated by intracellular oxidants. An example would be the hypothesis that ozone activates gene transcription by initiating intracellular oxidative stress through formations of certain chemicals. Also, external stimuli such as environmental conditions can also result in the activation or inhibition of transcription factors. This will form complexes and alters gene expression. Determining what signals target transcription factors and how they do so is crucial to our understanding of the specificity of gene expression and resultant biological responses. (Frigo et al, 2002) Transcription factors are found in all living organisms and the amount of transcription factors is proportional to the genome size: larger genomes tend to have more transcription factors per gene.