operon Hear it!

operon Definition

op·eron (äp′ə rän′)

noun

a cluster of genes, with related functions acting as a coordinated unit controlled by a regulatory gene

Etymology: < L operare, to work (see operate) + -on

operon Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • have: Five of these six species have only two rRNA operons, whereas there are six operons in H. influenzae.

Preposition: in

  • genome: APS is provided by The Institute of Genome Research ( TIGR ) as part of their " Predicting operons in microbial genomes " resource.

Adjective modifier

  • predicting: APS is provided by The Institute of Genome Research ( TIGR ) as part of their " Predicting operons in microbial genomes " resource.

Modifies a noun

  • expression: With AmiC it forms a signal transduction system controlling operon expression.
  • leader: Right at the top is thr L which identifies itself as the thr operon leader peptide; do you know what that means?

Noun used with modifier

  • lac: With lactose as the main energy source there is a very high rate of synthesis from the lac operon.
  • rrna: The multiple rRNA operons are generally dispersed throughout the prokaryotic genome.