**Lac operon questions** In homes and apartments , a consistent temperature is kept by means of a thermostat..

Question

which regulates when heating is turned on or off. In what way does the lac operon function like a thermostat?


Also.....

Biological processes often take place in a series of sequential steps called a biochemical pathway. Many biochemical pathways are controlled by feedback inhibition. In feedback inhibition, a pathway's end product affects an earlier step in the pathway and causes the pathway to stop. Explain why the lac operon in E coli is considered an example of feedback inhibition.

Answer 1

Look at the wiki article below for complete details. Lac operon is like a thermostat in which the substrate, lactose, induces production of the enzyme that will break it down, lac. Thermostats turn on when the temp is low (for example), and will turn off when the temp is too hi. The lac operon does the same thing, in low concentrations of lactose, it's off, and in high concentrations, its on. Since the product is glucose, and high glucose levels also dampen the production of Lac genes, It's an example of feedback inhibition. See the wiki for more info.