Question
What happens to E. coli when lactose is not present?
Responses
The genes required to produce the enzymes that break down lactose are destroyed.
The genes required to produce the enzymes that break down lactose are destroyed.
E. coli is not able to survive without lactose.
E. coli is not able to survive without lactose.
The enzymes needed to break down lactose are continually produced.
The enzymes needed to break down lactose are continually produced.
The genes that produce the enzymes needed to break down lactose are not expressed.
Responses
The genes required to produce the enzymes that break down lactose are destroyed.
The genes required to produce the enzymes that break down lactose are destroyed.
E. coli is not able to survive without lactose.
E. coli is not able to survive without lactose.
The enzymes needed to break down lactose are continually produced.
The enzymes needed to break down lactose are continually produced.
The genes that produce the enzymes needed to break down lactose are not expressed.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
When lactose is not present, the genes that produce the enzymes needed to break down lactose are not expressed. This is because E. coli regulates the expression of these genes through a system called the lac operon, which is activated in the presence of lactose. In the absence of lactose, the operon is off, and the enzymes such as β-galactosidase are not produced. This allows the bacterium to conserve energy by not producing unnecessary proteins.