Gene expression regulation in

prokaryotes
Constitutive versus regulated enzymes
inducible enzymes – catabolic
pathways – complex sugar
metabolism
repressible enzymes – anabolic
pathways (amino acid synthesis)

Regulated expression of enzymes result in

energy savings
 Discoveries leading to the operon
model of regulation of gene expression
in bacteria
(lac operon)
• Genes that code for enzymes with related
functions tend to be organized in clusters in
the chromosome and transcribed as a single
unit
• Induction of these protein coding
(structural) genes depends on regulatory
regions
• Constitutive mutations led to the discovery
of two regulatory genes:
lacI – which maps at a distance to the
structural genes
lacO – located immediately before the
first of the structural genes
lac operon and its regulatory elements
Jacob and Monod’s model
Wild type E.coli lac operon – no lactose
Wild type E.coli lac operon – lactose present
Genetic evidence for operon model - merozygotes
Effect of lacOc mutation in partial diploid
Effects of lacI- mutation
Dominant effect of lacIs mutation
Table 16-1 Copyright © 2006 Pearson Prentice Hall, Inc.
Positive control – Role of cyclic AMP
Tryptophan operon – a repressible operon
Attenuation - alternative structures
trp operon leader mRNA
 Attenuation - alternative
structures trp operon
leader mRNA
Models for attenuation
of the trp operon