Suppose that E. coli sustains a mutation in its gene for the lac operon repressor such that the repressor is ineffective. What effect would this have on the bacterium’s ability to catabolize lactose? Would the mutant strain have an advantage over wild-type cells? Explain your answer.
Gene Interactions
When the expression of a single trait is influenced by two or more different non-allelic genes, it is termed as genetic interaction. According to Mendel's law of inheritance, each gene functions in its own way and does not depend on the function of another gene, i.e., a single gene controls each of seven characteristics considered, but the complex contribution of many different genes determine many traits of an organism.
Gene Expression
Gene expression is a process by which the instructions present in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) are converted into useful molecules such as proteins, and functional messenger ribonucleic (mRNA) molecules in the case of non-protein-coding genes.
Suppose that E. coli sustains a mutation in its gene for the lac operon repressor such that the repressor is ineffective. What effect would this have on the bacterium’s ability to catabolize lactose? Would the mutant strain have an advantage over wild-type cells? Explain your answer.
Trending now
This is a popular solution!
Step by step
Solved in 2 steps
