The statement that accurately highlights a difference between gene regulation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes is: prokaryotes do not store their genes in a nucleus like eukaryotes do.
Prokaryotes have a simpler cell structure without a membrane-bound nucleus, while eukaryotes have a defined nucleus that houses their genetic material. This difference affects how gene expression and regulation occur.
The other statements provided contain inaccuracies:
- While operons are more common in prokaryotes than in eukaryotes, not all eukaryotes use operons, and many prokaryotic genes are not organized in operons.
- Prokaryotes do not remove exons from mRNA; they typically do not have introns in their genes, whereas eukaryotes splice out introns before translation.
- The transcription of genes in eukaryotes is not solely dependent on environmental stimuli; both prokaryotes and eukaryotes can have precise control of gene expression in response to environmental changes, but the mechanisms differ significantly.