P.S. [CLASS 17. Gene Prediction.]
- An operon is a unit of genetic material that codes for a cluster of genes under the control of a single promoter. The genes in an operon are transcribed in one piece (polycistronic mRNA). E.g., lac operon in E.coli (the first operon discovered [Jacob and Monod, 1961]): illustration. Operons occur primarily in prokaryotes and can be transcriptionally regulated (Jacob and Monod got a 1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for their operon model of gene expression regulation). One hypothesis of operon formation is described here (and its critique).
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ATP synthase is a multi-subunit enzyme:
- ATP synthase operon in T. acidophilum
- A double-stranded DNA molecule has six reading frames