How do prokaryotes control gene expression?

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Prokaryotic cells can only regulate gene expression by controlling the amount of transcription. It therefore became possible to control gene expression by regulating transcription in the nucleus, and also by controlling the RNA levels and protein translation present outside the nucleus.



Just so, what is gene expression in prokaryotes?

Prokaryotic gene expression (both transcription and translation) occurs within the cytoplasm of a cell due to the lack of a defined nucleus; thus, the DNA is freely located within the cytoplasm. Eukaryotic gene expression occurs in both the nucleus (transcription) and cytoplasm (translation).

Furthermore, how is gene expression controlled in prokaryotes quizlet? Transcription, translation or post-translation. Negative control occurs when a regulatory protein prevents transcription. Positive control occurs when a regulatory protein increases the transcription rate.

Regarding this, what mechanisms does a prokaryotic cell use to control gene expression?

Prokaryotes regulate gene expression by controlling the amount of transcription, whereas eukaryotic control is much more complex.

How do you control gene expression?

Mechanisms of gene regulation include:

  1. Regulating the rate of transcription.
  2. Regulating the processing of RNA molecules, including alternative splicing to produce more than one protein product from a single gene.
  3. Regulating the stability of mRNA molecules.
  4. Regulating the rate of translation.

34 Related Question Answers Found

What is an example of gene expression?

Any step of gene expression may be modulated, from the DNA-RNA transcription step to post-translational modification of a protein. Some simple examples of where gene expression is important are: Control of insulin expression so it gives a signal for blood glucose regulation.

Why is gene expression important?

Gene Expression. Genes encode proteins and proteins dictate cell function. Moreover, each step in the flow of information from DNA to RNA to protein provides the cell with a potential control point for self-regulating its functions by adjusting the amount and type of proteins it manufactures.

How do you analyze gene expression?

Most of these techniques, including microarray analysis and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), work by measuring mRNA levels. However, researchers can also analyze gene expression by directly measuring protein levels with a technique known as a Western blot.

What affects gene expression?

The expression of genes in an organism can be influenced by the environment, including the external world in which the organism is located or develops, as well as the organism's internal world, which includes such factors as its hormones and metabolism.

What is gene expression in eukaryotes?


Gene expression in eukaryotes is influenced by a wide variety of mechanisms, including the loss, amplification, and rearrangement of genes. Genes are differentially transcribed, and the RNA transcripts are variably utilized. Multigene families regulate the amount, the diversity, and the timing of gene expression.

What does it mean to say a gene is expressed?

Gene expression is the process by which the instructions in our DNA are converted into a functional product, such as a protein. Gene expression is a tightly regulated process that allows a cell to respond to its changing environment.

What is mRNA made of?

Messenger RNA (mRNA) Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a single-stranded RNA molecule that is complementary to one of the DNA strands of a gene. The mRNA is an RNA version of the gene that leaves the cell nucleus and moves to the cytoplasm where proteins are made.

What is differential gene expression?

Through the process of differential gene expression, the activation of different genes within a cell that define its purpose, each cell expresses only those genes which it needs. However, the extra genes are not destroyed, but continue to be stored within the nucleus of the cell.

What controls gene expression in eukaryotes?

Gene expression in eukaryotic cells is regulated by repressors as well as by transcriptional activators. Like their prokaryotic counterparts, eukaryotic repressors bind to specific DNA sequences and inhibit transcription. Other repressors compete with activators for binding to specific regulatory sequences.

What are two ways in which eukaryotic cells regulate gene expression?


Eukaryotic gene expression is regulated during transcription and RNA processing, which take place in the nucleus, and during protein translation, which takes place in the cytoplasm. Further regulation may occur through post-translational modifications of proteins.

What is the difference between mRNA in prokaryotes and eukaryotes?

There is no such structure seen in prokaryotes. Another main difference between the two is that transcription and translation occurs simultaneously in prokaryotes and in eukaryotes the RNA is first transcribed in the nucleus and then translated in the cytoplasm. Eukaryotes contain mRNAs that are monocystronic.

What is the main function of a promoter?

Promoters are DNA sequences whose purpose is not to encode information about the organism itself, but rather they serve as a kind of "On" switch to initiate the biological process of transcription for the genes which follow the promoter DNA sequence.

Why are introns called introns?

The parts of the gene sequence that are expressed in the protein are called exons, because they are expressed, while the parts of the gene sequence that are not expressed in the protein are called introns, because they come in between the exons.

Why is translation faster in prokaryotes?

There are several factors that can account for the speed of translation in prokaryotes. Perhaps the most obvious is that there is no nucleus in prokaryotes— it takes time to move the mRNA from the nucleus, where it is transcribed, to the cytoplasm, where ribosomes will translate it.

Do prokaryotic genes have introns?


Prokaryotes can't have introns, because they have transcription coupled to translation. They don't have time/space for that, since intron splicing will stop the coupling. Eukaryotes evolved the nucleus, where splicing can be done.

Which explains a difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic gene regulation?

A)Prokaryotes process DNA in the nucleus, so genes do not need to be activated. B)Eukaryotes express all genes, so gene expression does not need to be regulated. C)Eukaryotes utilize operons, so they do not need to produce sections of mRNA. D)Prokaryotes do not have mRNA, so they do not have processes to degrade mRNA.

Which explains a difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic gene Reguation?

Different between Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Gene Regluation
Prokaryotes do not have DNA so they do not have mRNA. Therefore, they do not have processes to degrade mRNA explains a difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic gene regulation. Eukaryotic cells have DNA which transcribed to RNA to form proteins.