In this lesson you will learn about how prokaryotes regulate gene expression in response to changes in their environments. You will also learn about the operon model of gene regulation.
By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
- compare and contrast feedback inhibition and gene regulation.
- define the operon model, operon, repressor, regulatory gene, co-repressor, and promoter.
- compare and contrast repressible and inducible operons.
- explain in detail how the trp and lac operons operate in bacteria.
Let’s first examine the fundamentals of gene expression regulation (feedback inhibition and gene regulation) and then the operon model in the video lesson below. Watch carefully and pay close attention to their various components, functions and regulations.
Below are two posters (study-notes) for the lac and trp operons. Print them out and use them to visualize their structures and regulation.
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The lac Operon in E.coli Activity
Below is an animation of the lac Operon. Watch it and then create a narration in which you describe the event leading to the switching on and off of this operon.