1) In the wildtype (the DNA sequence most commonly found in nature) lac operon, transcription is severely down-regulated. A mutation in lacI that causes an early stop codon in the sequence (called a lacI - strain) results in an operon that has high levels of transcription of the polycistronic m-RNA. What type of regulatory protein is the LacI protein (hint: we covered this type of protein in lecture)?
The Lac regulatory protein is called a repressor. (is this correct)
2) If a bacterium with a wildtype lac operon is grown in the presence of lactose, high levels of transcription result for a while, however, eventually transcription is again down-regulated. If, on the other hand, the sugar IPTG is present (instead of lactose), transcription levels are high and remain high. What function do IPTG and lactose share? How are they differently affected by the operon product? (need help with this question)
Lactose and IPTG affected by the operon are both inducers of the Lac-Operon. (is this correct)
3) What is âepigeneticsâ? What forms of gene regulation are usually involved in epigenetic control of a trait? Why do we have such a limited understanding of epigenetic processes? (need help with this question)
Epigenetics is the study of phenotype changes that do not change the DNA sequence. Genes can be turned on and off based on environment situations of past generations, (parents or even grandparents) were exposed. Examples of some environmental factors could be diet, stress, smoking, drinking alcohol, and diseases. Histone modification and methylation are usually involved in epigenetic control of a trait. (is this correct)
1) In the wildtype (the DNA sequence most commonly found in nature) lac operon, transcription is severely down-regulated. A mutation in lacI that causes an early stop codon in the sequence (called a lacI - strain) results in an operon that has high levels of transcription of the polycistronic m-RNA. What type of regulatory protein is the LacI protein (hint: we covered this type of protein in lecture)?
The Lac regulatory protein is called a repressor. (is this correct)
2) If a bacterium with a wildtype lac operon is grown in the presence of lactose, high levels of transcription result for a while, however, eventually transcription is again down-regulated. If, on the other hand, the sugar IPTG is present (instead of lactose), transcription levels are high and remain high. What function do IPTG and lactose share? How are they differently affected by the operon product? (need help with this question)
Lactose and IPTG affected by the operon are both inducers of the Lac-Operon. (is this correct)
3) What is âepigeneticsâ? What forms of gene regulation are usually involved in epigenetic control of a trait? Why do we have such a limited understanding of epigenetic processes? (need help with this question)
Epigenetics is the study of phenotype changes that do not change the DNA sequence. Genes can be turned on and off based on environment situations of past generations, (parents or even grandparents) were exposed. Examples of some environmental factors could be diet, stress, smoking, drinking alcohol, and diseases. Histone modification and methylation are usually involved in epigenetic control of a trait. (is this correct)
