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Do I need to include intermediate gene products like mRNA in order to express a gene regulatory relationship in SBOL?

For example, let's say that I'm representing transcriptional regulation of the pTet promoter by means of a coding sequence that expresses TetR. Do I need to represent the TetR transcript mRNA as well as the TetR protein?

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As far as I understand, the purpose of SBOL is not to create a comprehensive model, but to communicate a design. So the question you have to ask is "is the mRNA part of my design, or is it an implicit part of the biology which does not help to convey what I'm trying to build?".

I think your summary is a giveaway:

For example, let's say that I'm representing transcriptional regulation of the pTet promoter by means of a coding sequence that expresses TetR.

Notice that the mRNA was not mentioned? I also daresay that if you drew this design as a diagram, the mRNA would be omitted - another indication that it is not helpful in communicating what you designed.

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