BIOL 2112 Chapter Notes - Chapter 18: Corepressor, Operon, Repressor

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Lecture 24 - Bacterial Gene Regulation
1) Bacteria respond to changes in their environments, such as nutrient
availability, by regulating their metabolic pathways. Describe two
mechanisms that bacteria use in order to adapt to environmental changes.
Include in your answer which mechanism is a short-term or long-term
adaptation. Feedback inhibition (anabolic biosynthetic pathways) allows a cell to adapt
to short term fluctuations in the supply of a substance it needs. They can do this by
adjusting to the activity of the enzymes already present which is a rapid response. This
response relies on chemical cues that increase or decrease their catalytic activity. Activity
of the first enzyme in the pathway is inhibited by the pathways end product. The end
product shuts down the synthesis of further production of the end product by inhibiting
the enzymes activity. Regulation of gene expression of genes encoding certain enzymes
allows a cell to adjust the production level of certain enzymes. If the environment provides
a molecule, the cell stops making the enzymes that catalyze the synthesis of that
molecule. The control of enzyme production occurs at the level of transcription in the
synthesis of mRNA from the genes that code for these enzymes. This is a long-term
response. 2) What is an operon and what is the advantage to this gene
structure? What is an operator sequence and where is it located within an
operon? An operon is the entire stretch of DNA required for enzyme production. Genes of
related function grouped into one single transcription unit are coordinately controlled by a
single operator. The operator is a o-off swith loated withi the prooter site
where RNA polymerase can bind to DNA and begin transcription) or between the
promoter and the enzyme-coding genes. The operator controls access of RNA polymerase
to the genes. The operon is constituted by the operator, the promoter, and the genes they
control. An operon is in the genome and there are many operons in a genome. 3) In
terms of an operon, what is a repressor and corepressor, and how do these
two factors function? An operon can be switched off by a protein called a repressor. A
repressor binds to the operator and blocks attachment of RNA polymerase to the promoter
preventing transcription of the genes. A repressor protein is specific for the operator of a
particular operon. A repressor for one operon has no effect on other operons in the
genome. Repressor proteins are encoded by a regulatory gene located some distance from
the operon and have each their own promoter (site where RNA polymerase can bind to
DNA and begin transcription). Regulatory genes are expressed continuously at a low rate
& a few repressor molecules are always present (in E. coli cells). Binding of repressors is
reversible and an operator alternates between two states repressor bound & no
repressor bound. The relative duration of the repressor-bound state is higher when more
active repressor molecules are present. Most repressors (regulatory proteins) are allosteric
proteins, having two alternative shapes active & inactive. The repressor is synthesized in
the inactive form which has little affinity for the operator. Only when a small molecule
cooperates with a repressor protein binding to an allosteric site, therefore changing the
repressor protein to its active form can the repressor attach to the operator turning the
operon off. In this type of system, the small binding molecule that cooperates with a
repressor protein to switch an operon off is called a corepressor. As the corepressor
accumulates, more corepressors associate with repressor molecules and then
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Document Summary

Lecture 24 - bacterial gene regulation: bacteria respond to changes in their environments, such as nutrient availability, by regulating their metabolic pathways. Describe two mechanisms that bacteria use in order to adapt to environmental changes. Include in your answer which mechanism is a short-term or long-term adaptation. Feedback inhibition (anabolic biosynthetic pathways) allows a cell to adapt to short term fluctuations in the supply of a substance it needs. They can do this by adjusting to the activity of the enzymes already present which is a rapid response. This response relies on chemical cues that increase or decrease their catalytic activity. Activity of the first enzyme in the pathway is inhibited by the pathways end product. The end product shuts down the synthesis of further production of the end product by inhibiting the enzymes activity. Regulation of gene expression of genes encoding certain enzymes allows a cell to adjust the production level of certain enzymes.

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