Lac repressor: Difference between revisions
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==What is the lac repressor?== | ==What is the lac repressor?== | ||
Repressors are proteins that inhibit the expression of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene genes]; that is, they inhibit the transcription of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messenger_rna messenger RNA] from their target genes. Each repressor targets a specific co-regulated group of genes by recognizing a specific sequence of DNA, called the ''operator'' in bacteria. Repressor proteins are coded for by ''regulatory'' genes. | Repressors are proteins that inhibit the expression of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene genes]; that is, they inhibit the transcription of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messenger_rna messenger RNA] from their target genes. Each repressor targets a specific co-regulated group of genes by recognizing a specific sequence of DNA, called the ''operator'' in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria bacteria]. Repressor proteins are coded for by ''regulatory'' genes. | ||
The lac repressor controls the expression of bacterial enzymes involved in the metabolism of of the sugar lactose. It, and the group of genes it controls, called an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operon operon], were the first such gene regulatory system to be discovered. | The lac repressor controls the expression of bacterial enzymes involved in the metabolism of of the sugar lactose. It, and the group of genes it controls, called an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operon operon], were the first such gene regulatory system to be discovered. It was described in 1960<ref></ref> by François Jacob ''et al.''. The [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1965/ 1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine] was awarded to François Jacob, André Lwoff, and Jacques Monod "for their discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis" | ||
For a general introduction to the lac repressor, please see David Goodsell's [http://pdb.rcsb.org/pdb/static.do?p=education_discussion/molecule_of_the_month/pdb39_1.html Introduction to the lac repressor] in his series [[Molecule of the Month]], and the article in Wikipedia on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac_repressor lac repressor]. | For a general introduction to the lac repressor, please see David Goodsell's [http://pdb.rcsb.org/pdb/static.do?p=education_discussion/molecule_of_the_month/pdb39_1.html Introduction to the lac repressor] in his series [[Molecule of the Month]], and the article in Wikipedia on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac_repressor lac repressor]. | ||