title: The lactose repressor system: paradigms for regulation, allosteric behavior and protein folding.
abstract: In 1961, Jacob and Monod proposed the operon model for gene regulation based on metabolism of lactose in Escherichia coli. This proposal was followed by an explication of allosteric behavior by Monod and colleagues. The operon model rationally depicted how genetic mechanisms can control metabolic events in response to environmental stimuli via coordinated transcription of a set of genes with related function (e.g. metabolism of lactose). The allosteric response found in the lactose repressor and many other proteins has been extended to a variety of cellular signaling pathways in all organisms. These two models have shaped our view of modern molecular biology and captivated the attention of a surprisingly broad range of scientists. More recently, the lactose repressor monomer was used as a model system for experimental and theoretical explorations of protein folding mechanisms. Thus, the lac system continues to advance our molecular understanding of genetic control and the relationship between sequence, structure and function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, USA.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Swint-Kruse
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Matthews
mesh_terms: D000494:Allosteric Regulation; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D007763:Lac Operon / Q000235:genetics*; D056968:Lac Repressors; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009154:Mutation; D009875:Operator Regions, Genetic; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D056968:Lac Repressors; C539064:LacI protein, E coli; D012097:Repressor Proteins