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Gene expression is regulated by the carefully orchestrated interplay between enhancers, which bind transcription factors, and promoters, which convert the enhancers' signals into transcription. But what constitutes a promoter sequence that strongly responds to an enhancer, and how large can the dynamic range of this response be? Alexander Stark et al. systematically tested genomic sequences in Drosophila melanogaster for their ability to act as minimal promoters. Their self-transcribing active core promoter sequencing (STAP-seq) revealed up to 1,000-fold difference in gene activity with different minimal promoters coupled to the same enhancer. These data allowed the researchers to predict the strength of a core promoter from its sequence and will allow insight into the mechanism of transcriptional regulation. They will also enable the design of highly responsive transcriptional regulatory elements for high transgene expression.