GENE REGULATION

IN PROKARYOTES &
EUKARYOTES

Gene regulation
OVERVIEW

Every cell in your body contains a complete set of genes

But they are not all turned on in every tissue

Each cell in your body expresses only a small subset of

genes at any time
During development different cells express different sets
of genes in a precisely regulated fashion

Gene regulation
OVERVIEW

Gene regulation occurs at the level of transcription or

production of mRNA
A given cell transcribes only a specific set of genes &
not others

Gene regulation
OVERVIEW
Regulation of transcription controls WHEN transcription
occurs & HOW MUCH RNA is created.
Transcription of a gene by RNA polymerase can be
regulated by at least 5 mechanisms:
i) Specificity factors
ii) Repressors
iii) General transcriptional factors
iv) Activators
v) Enhancers

Gene regulation
i)

Specificity factors alter the specificity of RNA

polymerase for promoter, making it more / less likely to
bind to them (sigma factors in prokaryotes)

ii) Repressors bind to non-coding sequnces of DNA that

are close or overlapping promoter region, impeding RNA
polymerases progress, impeding gene exp.

Gene regulation
iii) General transcriptional factors TF position RNA
polymerase at the start of a protein-coding sequence

iv) Activators enhance the interaction between RNA

polymerase & a particular promoter
v) Enhancers sites on the DNA helix that are bound to by
activators in order to loop the DNA bringing a specific
promoter to the initiation complex

Gene regulation
In prokaryotes
- regulation is needed for cell to quickly adapt to the
changing outer environment
- Presence, quantity & type of nutrients
- Repressors bind to regions called operators
- Activators bind to upstream portion of the promoter

Gene regulation
In eukaryotes
- Involve combinatorial interactions between several
transcription factors, allow response to multiple conditions
- Make use of enhancers (distant regions of DNA) that can
loop back the promoter
- RNA interference by epigenetic modification of promoters
& breaking down mRNA

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Gene regulation in Prokaryotes

E. coli cells metabolize sugars in their environment

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Lac Z

In the presence of the sugar lactose, E. coli makes an

enzyme called beta galactosidase
Beta galactosidase breaks down the sugar lactose so
the E. coli can digest it for food
It is the LAC Z gene in E. coli that codes for the enzyme
beta galactosidase

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Lac Z

E. coli cells cannot make the sugar lactose

They can only have lactose when it is present in their
environment
Then they turn on genes to break down lactose

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Lac Z

The E. coli bacteria only needs beta galactosidase if

there is lactose in the environment to digest
There is no point in making the enzyme if there is no
lactose sugar to break down
It is the combination of the promoter & the DNA that
regulate when a gene will be transcribed

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Operon

This combination of a promoter & a gene is called an

OPERON
Operon is a cluster of genes encoding related enzymes
that are regulated together

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Operon

Operon consists of
A promoter site where RNA polymerase binds &
begins transcribing the message
A region that makes a repressor
Repressor sits on the DNA at a spot between the
promoter & the gene to be transcribed
This site is called the OPERATOR

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Lac Z

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Lac operon

Consists of 3 structural genes, a promoter, a terminator,

regulator & operator
Structural genes : lacZ, lacY, lacA

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Lac operon

lacZ = encode -galactosidase (LacZ), intracellular enzyme that

cleaves disaccharide latose into glucose & galactose
lacY = encode -galactoside permease (LacY), a membrane
bound transport protein that pumps lactose into the cell
lacA = encodes -galactosidase transacetylase (LacA), enzyme
that transfers an acetyl group from acetyl-CoA to galactosidase

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Lac Z

E. coli regulate the production of beta galactocidase by

using a regulatory protein called a repressor
The repressor binds to the lac Z gene at a site between
the promoter & the start of the coding sequence

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Lac Z

Normally the repressor sits on the operator repressing

transcription of the lac Z gene
In the presence of lactose the repressor binds to the
lactose metabolite (allolactose) & causing a
change in repressor shape, unable to bind to
operator
This allows the polymerase to move down the lac Z gene

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Lac Z

Regulatory protein = lactose repressor

lacI gene coding for the repressor lies nearby the lac
operon & always expressed

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Lac Z

This results in the production of beta galactosidase

which breaks down the sugar
When there is no sugar left the repressor will return to
its spot on the chromosome and stop the
transcription of the lac Z gene

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Gene regulation in Prokaryotes

In addition to sugars like glucose & lactose, E. coli also

require amino acids
Essential aa : tryptophan.
Will absorb the amino acids from the media
When tryptophan is not present, the cell must
manufacture its own amino acids

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Trp Operon

The tryptophan gene is turned on when there is no

tryptophan in the media
E. coli uses several proteins encoded by a cluster of 5
genes to manufacture the amino acid tryptophan
All 5 genes are transcribed together as a unit called an
operon, which produces a single long piece of
mRNA for all the genes

Gene regulation in prokaryotes

Gene regulation in prokaryotes