In: Biology
A cis-acting mutation that leads to MINIMAL expression of the lac operon would most likely be in the CAP binding site. Is this true or false, and why? Thanks!
Answer: False -A cis-dominant mutation, is likely to be the CAP binding site Cis-acting elements are DNA sequences in the vicinity of the structural portion of a gene, which are required for gene expression. In general, cis-acting mutations are in DNA sequences that function as binding sites for proteins that control the expression of nearby genes. Mutations in a target DNA site reveal that such a site is cis-acting; that is, the target site regulates the expression of an adjacent transcription unit on the same DNA molecule. In contrast, mutations in the gene encoding an activator or repressor protein reveal that this protein is trans-acting; that is, it can act on any copy of the target DNA site in the cell.
Catabolite activator protein (CAP; also known as cAMP receptor protein, CRP) is a trans-acting transcriptional activator that exists as a homodimer in solution. Catabolyte repression is the system used by bacteria to turn off lac and other glucose-substitute operons in the presence of glucose
cAMP changes the conformation of CAP, allowing it to bind to DNA in lac operons and recruit RNA polymerase for transcription.Without cAMP, CAP cannot bind to DNA, and RNA polymerase is not recruited to the operons.