1) A specific region just upstream from a gene that acts as a binding site for transcription factors and RNA polymerase during the initiation of transcription.

2) A promoter is a sequence of DNA needed to turn a gene on or off. The process of transcription is initiated at the promoter. Usually found near the beginning of a gene, the promoter has a binding site for the enzyme used to make a messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule.

3) A DNA site to which RNA polymerase will bind and initiate transcription.