Lecture 7 Flashcards
Tryptophan operon regulation in Bacillus subtilis:
3
- Alternate, mutually exclusive stem-and-loop structures in the mRNA lead to termination or anti-termination
- High tryptophan leads to TRAP forming (C&D) resulting in anti-termination
- antiTRAP protein binds to inactivate TRAP, regulated by uncharged tRNAtrp
Regulation of gene expression is mediated by
4
- Positive/negative
- DNA-binding/RNA binding
- Regulating transcription initiation/termination
- Most are regulated by an effector molecule having an allosteric effect on the conformation and activity of the protein
Riboswitches influence gene expression in eukaryotes (some in fungi and plants) by..
(4)
- Altering the structure in the mRNA through the binding of an effector molecule, influencing gene expression by..
- Transcription termination (attenuation)
- Translation initiation
- No regulatory protein involved
Alternative structures of riboswitches
2
- The normal confirmation does not result in transcription termination, but upon binding by an effector molecule
- A change in confirmation results in transcription termination
Riboswitch example:
2
- SAM is a small effector molecule that binds when there is enough in the cell.
- When not bound 2&3 bind, but when bound 1&2 pair and 3&4 pair and termination follows
Other riboswitches examples:
6
- Coenzyme B12
- Guanine
- Lysine
- Adenine
- Thyamine
- Flavin
Bacteriophage lambda:
2
- A simple model organism
- Temperate bacteriophage of E.coli
- Lysis or lysogeny are the binary outcomes based on regulatory events of genes
The Lambda life cycle:
- Infection of a cell
- 50kb linear genome circularises via cohesive sticky ends within the cell
- Either lytic growth (phage infects cell and replicates new phage, cell burst etc)
- OR lysogenic growth ohage
The Lambda lytic pathway:
- Phage infects cell
- 50kb genome circularises using sticky ends
- DNA replicates using host machinery
- Cells lyses and lambda infects new cells
The lambda lysogenic pathway
- Phage infects cell
- 50kb genome circularises using sticky ends
- DNA integrates into the cell chromosomes and lambda repressor is expressed
- Replicates with cell machinery until the repressor is turned off
- lysis follows
Induction
- The lysogen is induced into the lytic cycle
- Often occurs under host cell stress
Lambda genome parts:
7
- Cos sticky ends circularise
- Head protein genes
- Tail protein genes
- Lysis genes for breaking open the cell
- Integration and excision of E.coli
- DNA replication genes
- Regulatory functions
Phage lytic development involves:
- A cascade of gene expression from early to middle to late genes
- New phage RNAP, sigma factors, promoters and anti-termination factors are used to progress to the next stage of gene expression
Early genes:
- Phage genes are transcribed by host RNA polymerase
Middle genes:
- Early product causes transcription of middle genes
Late genes:
- Middle product allows transcription of late genes containing phage components
Early genes are divided into two groups: Immediate early genes encode:
- Are transcribed by host RNAP from PL and PR
- cro from PL = negative regulator
- N from PR= antiterminator, which allows transcripts to extend into delayed early genes
Early genes are divided into two groups: delayed early genes encode:
- Transcription initiates at PR and pQ
- cII/cIII = regulators, using 7 recombination genes and 2 replication genes
- Q = anti-terminator, allow transcripts to extend into late genes
Late genes:
- 10 head genes
- 11 tail genes
- 2 lysis genes
cIII
- maintains cII
- used in lysogeny
N
- anti-terminator
- Turns on delayed early genes
- used in lysogeny and lysis
cI
- lysogenic repressor
- lysogeny
cro
- negative regulator
- turns off repressor
- lysis
cII
- turns on repressor
- lysogeny
Q
- anti-terminator
- turns on late genes
- used in lysis
The promoters for the lytic cycle are
- PL
- Pr
- PR’