Exam 2 (Lect. Qs 16-21) Flashcards
(245 cards)
A gene whose product catabolizes DDT as a carbon source is “induced” by DDT. What does this mean?
A. The gene is only transcribed in the presence of DDT.
B. The gene is only transcribed in the absence of DDT.
C. DDT is a protein that binds to turn the gene “ON.”
D. DDT is a protein that binds to turn the gene “OFF.”
E. The cell is killed by DDT
The gene is only transcribed in the presence of DDT.
An inducer used with a positive regulatory system . . .
A. is called a “co-repressor”
B. prevents the repressor protein from binding to the DNA
C. helps the activator protein bind to the DNA
D. binds directly to the DNA instead of to a protein
E. is impossible - inducers are used only with negative regulatory systems.
helps the activator protein bind to the DNA
Cells in a biofilm grow at a much higher cell density than planktonic cells. What is a result of such dense growth?
A. All the genes in the cell will be turned on.
B. More genes will be turned on than in planktonic growth.
C. Cells will be more motile than planktonic cells.
D. Genes that are induced by homoserine lactones (HSL) will be turned on.
E. Nothing - bacteria have no way of knowing how many other cells are present.
Genes that are induced by homoserine lactones (HSL) will be turned on.
What is a “response regulator” in a two component regulatory system?
A. The environmental signal
B. The inducer of the environmental signal
C. The co-repressor for genes that respond to the environmental signal
D. A protein that turns genes on or off in response to the environmental signal
E. A gene that is turned on or off in response to the environmental signal
A protein that turns genes on or off in response to the environmental signal
The protein TrmB binds to the promoter region of the malE gene. The sugar trehalose binds to TrmB. In the presence of trehalose, the binding of TrmB to the malE gene is inhibited, and the malE gene is transcribed. TrmB is an example of . . .
A. an inducer
B. a positive control protein
C. an operator
D. a repressor
E. a repressible gene
a repressor
The protein TyrR can activate some genes and simultaneously repress others. This depends on . . .
A. whether TyrR binds upstream or downstream of the promoter
B. whether an environmental inducer or a co-repressor is present
C. whether TyrR has a negative or a positive charge
D. whether TyrR is bound to an inducer gene or to a repressor gene
E. whether or not a sigma factor recognizes the promoter for TyrR
whether TyrR binds upstream or downstream of the promoter
How does an inducer induce a gene without being present inside the cell?
A. By altering the lipid bilayer, which then alters the DNA around a gene
B. By phosphate transfer between a membrane sensor kinase and a cytoplasmic regulatory protein
C. By binding a repressor and preventing the repressor from entering the cell
D. The inducer must be phosphorylated so it can phosphorylate the DNA
E. It can’t. The inducer must at least be able to enter the cell to induce a gene
By phosphate transfer between a membrane sensor kinase and a cytoplasmic regulatory protein
The mechanism whereby a cryptic gene is inserted downstream of an active promoter, as occurs in
Neisseria gonorrhoeae, is called . . .
A. Promoter induction
B. Two-component regulation
C. Cassette switching
D. Quorum sensing
E. Exon shuffling
Cassette switching
What is an “operon”?
A. A region of DNA in which multiple genes are regulated by one promoter
B. The sequence of RNA to which repressor proteins bind
C. The sequence of DNA to which activator proteins bind
D. The induction of a whole set of genes that all recognize the same sigma factor
E. An environmental signal that binds to a repressor protein to turn OFF a gene
A region of DNA in which multiple genes are regulated by one promoter
Raffinose is the inducer of the rafB gene. Which of the following MUST be true about raffinose?
A. it binds upstream of the rafB promoter
B. it binds to an activator protein
C. it is a protein
D. rafB mRNA is synthesized in its presence
E. it functions in a positive control system
rafB mRNA is synthesized in its presence
Which picture represents the lac regulatory region in the absence of both glucose and lactose?
A and O sitting on line, promoter pointed to O
Why is it an advantage for Neisseria gonorrhoeae to undergo cassette switching of its pilin genes?
A. This allows inducers to regulate genes without entering the cell.
B. It allows several pilin genes to be transcribed simultaneously.
C. Neisseria can attach to surfaces better with different pilus cassettes.
D. It enhances horizontal gene transfer of pilin genes between cells.
E. New pilin proteins can be made without involving another regulatory event.
New pilin proteins can be made without involving another regulatory event
What advantage does it give prokaryotes to have genes organized in operons?
A. The genes can all be replicated on one piece of DNA.
B. Related genes can all be regulated by the same environmental signal.
C. RNA polymerase can bind many places within a single gene.
D. Evolutionary gene transfer mechanisms can operate more efficiently.
E. A ribosome only needs to bind once to make all the genes into one large protein
Related genes can all be regulated by the same environmental signal
A gene with a -10 and -35 site whose nucleotide sequence closely match the consensus sequence for an RNA polymerase sigma factor has no other regulatory protein binding sites nearby. This gene is . . .
A. probably under negative control
B. probably silent
C. probably constitutive
D. able to be translated more often than it is transcribed
E. impossible, since all genes must have regulatory protein binding sites
probably constitutive
What is a “response regulator” in a two component regulatory system?
A. The environmental signal
B. The protein that phosphorylates itself in response to the environmental signal
C. A membrane protein that changes shape in the presence of the environmental signal
D. A protein that turns genes on or off in response to the environmental signal
E. A gene that is turned on or off in response to the environmental signal
A protein that turns genes on or off in response to the environmental signal
Gene regulation achieved by moving a gene from a silent (cryptic) site to an expressed site near a promoter is called. . .
A. quorum sensing
B. response regulation
C. gene dispersal
D. two component regulation
E. cassette switching
cassette switching
Most of the genes in prokaryotes are regulated together in operons. Why can’t eukaryotes have operons?
A. Eukaryotes use repressor proteins to regulate genes instead.
B. Prokaryotic mRNA is read 5’ to 3’, but eukaryotic ribosomes read 3’ to 5’.
C. Eukaryotic ribosomes can bind at only one place on each mRNA.
D. Eukaryotic mRNA cannot be transcribed and translated simultaneously.
E. Eukaryotic promoters do not orient RNA polymerase in any one direction
Eukaryotic ribosomes can bind at only one place on each mRNA.
An INDUCIBLE gene is . . .
A. controlled by an activator protein
B. transcribed only in response to an environmental signal
C. regulated by a protein that binds downstream of its promoter
D. “on” more frequently than it is “off”
E. regulated by a small molecule that allows a repressor protein to bind to an operator
transcribed only in response to an environmental signal
The araC gene is repressible by glucose and under positive control. A sketch of this gene being transcribed would best be represented by which of the following (triangle is glucose, circle is the regulatory protein)?
glucose absent to the left. arrow pointing to the right away from the circle (in between glucose and arrow)
The zwf gene is constitutive. Which of the following is true?
A. There is always the same amount of zwf mRNA in the cell
B. There is always the same amount of Zwf protein in the cell
C. The rate of zwf mRNA production is always the same
D. zwf must have two competing regulatory proteins that cancel each other’s effects
E. zwf may possibly be a gene involved in amino acid biosynthesis
The rate of zwf mRNA production is always the same
Which of the following is NOT true regarding cassette switching in bacteria?
A. It involves exchanging two genes and their promoters.
B. It can be used to alter bacterial surface proteins.
C. It occurs by the genetic mechanism called recombination.
D. It requires at least one copy of a silent gene somewhere in the chromosome.
E. It can result in production of mRNA from a gene that had not been expressed before
It involves exchanging two genes and their promoters
Which of the following is true of activator proteins?
A. They are not used to control repressible genes.
B. They are only used in positive control regulatory systems.
C. They usually bind DNA downstream of a promoter sequence.
D. They usually bind RNA upstream of a Shine-Dalgarno sequence.
E. They can only bind DNA in the presence of environmental inducers
They are only used in positive control regulatory systems
We would probably classify the regulation of a gene for respiratory chain proteins in a facultative anaerobe as . . .
A. constitutive
B. repressible
C. inducible
D. activatable
E. switchable
inducible
One way pathogenic bacteria know that they’re in your body is that the temperature increases to 37 degrees C. Some bacteria sense this with a two-component regulatory system in which AerA is the sensor kinase and AerB the response regulator. What would be the most reasonable hypothesis about the function of this regulatory system?
A. AerA can be phosphorylated by AerB at 37 degrees C.
B. AerB activates transcription of AerA at 37 degrees C.
C. AerA congregates to high density in the cytoplasm at 37 degrees C.
D. AerB has a different, phosphorylatable, amino acid sequence at 37 degrees C.
E. AerA partially unfolds at 37 degrees C to expose a phosphorylation site.
AerA partially unfolds at 37 degrees C to expose a phosphorylation site.