Genetic elements

The genetic elements that control gene expression

Transcriptional control

Translational control

inducer, operator, promoter, effector, repressor,

activator, cis-acting, trans-acting, constitutive synthesis,
attenuation
Transcriptional control

Jacob and Monod’s Operone Model

How bacteria could rapidly produce an enzymatic activity

in response to the external chemical?

Operon; collections of adjacent genes

that are transcribed into single mRNA molecules

; a group of genes coordinately regulated

“operational unit” of gene expression

Two styles of transcriptional control of lac operon

Two general categories of regulation

• Negative control: repressor protein present which

prevents transcription,
inducer (usually a small molecule) is needed to allow
initiation of transcription.

• Positive control: activator protein induces transcription.

cis-acting element
trans-acting
Lac repressor bound operator
 The repressor molecule has two important sites,
one that binds to the DNA (operator)
and the other that binds to the inducer.

Question: if mutation occurred DNA binding domain,

what phenotype would the bacteria show?

How about the mutation in inducer binding domain?

Positive regulation: CAP(catabolite activator protein)
 
           
                                 
Attenuation

Charles Yanofsky,

E.coli tryptophan operon

E.coli tryptophan opern
trpL; two tryptophan codon (UGG)
A model for attenuation
for tryptophan operon
Translational control
Hairpin structure of binding sites
on 16S rRNA and r-protein mRNA
For the ribosomal protein S8
Regions of homology are indicated in orage
Synthesis and translation of
prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic mRNA