*Lac operon consists of a polycistronic structural gene which is regulated by a common
promoter and structural genes. a) Structural gene- It is polycistronic. There are three structural genes; z, y and a placed adjacent to each other. Each structural gene can be taken as a cistron. Structural genes are transcribed to form a polycistronic mRNA that codes for the enzymes, βgalactosidase, permease and transacetylase respectively. b) Promoter gene (p) - It is the site for the binding of RNA polymerase to initiate the transcription of mRNA c) Operator gene (o) - It lies adjacent to the structural genes and directly controls the synthesis of mRNA. Operator gene can be switched off and switched on in the presence or absence of a repressor respectively. d) Regulator gene (i gene) - It functions as an inhibitory gene and produces a repressor protein. In the absence of an inducer, repressor binds to the operator gene and prevents the transcription of mRNA from the structural gene. 2.What is the substrate of lac operon? Why is it called as an ‘inducer’? Lactose or allolactose. It is called as an inducer because it regulates the switching on and off of lac operon. In the presence of an inducer(lactose), repressor gets inactivated and lac operon is “switched on”. In the absence of an inducer, repressor binds with the operator and the operon is “switched off”. 3.Name the structural genes of lac operon. Enumerate their role in the metabolism of lactose.
i) z gene- codes for βgalactosidase which hydrolyses lactose into glucose and galactose. ii) y gene- codes for permease which helps in increasing the permeability of the membrane for the transportation of lactose into the cells. iii) a gene- codes for transacetylase that transfers an acetyl group from acetyl co-A to βgalactosidase. 4.Absence and presence of lactose in the culture medium of E. coli affects the expression of lac operon. Explain how? Support with suitable sketches. a) Lac operon “switched off” In the absence of an inducer (lactose), repressor protein, produced from the regulatory gene (i gene) binds at the operator gene and prevents RNA polymerase from transcribing the operon. Hence lac operon is switched off.
b) Lac operon “switched on”
*If lactose(inducer) is available in the culture medium, it binds with the repressor protein produced from the ‘i’ gene and forms an inducer-repressor complex resulting in the inactivation of repressor and lac operon is “switched on”. *This allows RNA polymerase access to the promoter site and transcription of structural genes take place. *A polycistronic lac mRNA is formed. z gene codes for βgalactosidase which hydrolyses lactose into glucose and galactose. y gene- codes for permease which helps in increasing the permeability of the membrane for the transportation of lactose into the cells. a gene- codes for transacetylase that transfers an acetyl group from acetyl co-A to βgalactosidase. All the three gene products are essential for the metabolism of lactose.
5. A low level of expression of lac operon occurs all the time. Can you explain the logic behind this phenomenon. A low-level expression of lac operon occurs all the time in the cell. It is required for the synthesis of permease, that is necessary for the transport of lactose from the external medium into the cells and functions as an inducer of lac operon. 6.Why is regulation of lac operon is referred as negative regulation? This is because in lac operon, regulation of gene expression is by a repressor. The regulatory gene (i gene) codes for the repressor which acts as an inhibitor and it inhibits the transcription of structural genes by binding with the operator gene and the lac operon is “switched off”.
