6.1.2 Gene Control

Question 1

What does the nucleus of every cell in the human body contain the same of?

Answer 1

Genes
However, not every gene is expressed in every cell
In addition, not all of these genes are expressed all the time

Question 2

What are regulatory mechanisms?

Answer 2

There are several mechanisms that exist within cells to make sure the correct genes are expressed in the correct cell at the correct time
These mechanisms are known as regulatory mechanisms
They control which genes are expressed at different points in time (e.g. during development)

Question 3

What are the three main types of regulatory mechanisms?

Answer 3

Regulation at the transcriptional level (i.e. regulatory mechanisms that occur during transcription)
Regulation at the post-transcriptional level (i.e. regulatory mechanisms that occur after transcription)
Regulation at the post-translational level (i.e. regulatory mechanisms that occur after translation)

Question 4

What are these regulatory mechanisms controlled by?

Answer 4

Many different regulatory genes.

Question 5

What is a structural gene?

Answer 5

A structural gene codes for a protein that has a function within a cell (e.g. enzymes, membrane carriers, hormones etc.)

Question 6

What is a regulatory gene?

Answer 6

Regulatory genes code for proteins (or various forms of RNA) that control the expression of structural genes