Nota: La traducción de esta entrada está actualmente en revisión de calidad, por lo que parte del contenido se muestra temporalmente solo en inglés.
Esta entrada aún no se ha traducido a tu idioma, así que se muestra el original a continuación.
operon
This term is a specialized technical noun used almost exclusively within molecular biology and genetics. It describes a functional unit of DNA common in prokaryotes, where multiple genes are grouped together to be regulated as a single entity. This allows a cell to efficiently turn on or off an entire metabolic pathway in response to environmental changes.
Because it refers to a specific biological structure, it is used in a neutral, descriptive register. It is rarely encountered outside of academic, medical, or scientific discourse.
Meanings
Examples
The lac operon allows the cell to switch to lactose when glucose is unavailable.
Does this specific operon require an inducer to begin transcription?
The trp operon is regulated by a repressor protein that binds to the operator.
I wonder if this newly discovered bacterial species uses a similar operon for nutrient uptake.
An operon ensures that all enzymes in a metabolic pathway are produced simultaneously.
The promoter region of the operon is where RNA polymerase binds.
We need to analyze how the operon responds to environmental stress.
Most eukaryotes do not organize their genes into an operon structure.