Chapter 11

Constitutive expression- refers to genes that always are expressed.

Inducible expression- refers to genes that are expressed only under certain conditions.
Allosteric inhibition- inhibitory product binds to the enzyme so it cannot bind at the active sites.
Covalent modification- phosphorylation and methylation
Operon- unit of transcription, whose expression is under the control of discrete regulatory elements
including promoters and operators.
Lac Operon- includes structural genes (LacZ,LacY, and LacA) along with a common promoter and an
operator.
lacI- codes for a protein, LacI repressor that controls the operator.
Repressor- inhibits transcription.
Operator- site on the DNA bound by the repressor.
Effector- small molecule that binds to activator or repressor proteins, modifying their gene activity.
An Effector can be an Inducer where it inhibit the binding of the repressor protein to the operator or
also can be Corepressor where it enhance binding to the operator.
Activator- assist binding of the RNA polymerase to the promoter.
Trp operon- contains six structural genes.
Trp repressor cannot bind to operator unles it has a corepressor, Tryptophan.
Positive control- increased in transcription.
Activator molecule binds to activator binding site leading to increased transcription.
In lac operon, CRP serves as an activator.
In the prescence of glucose and lactose, coli exhibits a diauxic growth curve.
Regulons- coordinately regulated genes that respond to the same regulatory systems.
Presence of glucode lowers the level of cAMP that can bind to CRP and shits down the production of
enzymes that would allow utilization of lactose.
Catabolite repression- ensures that E. coli preferentially utilizes glucose