Lac operon and gene regulation
Operón lac y regulación génica
- Date
- 1961 · confidence high
- Place
- Pasteur Institute, Paris, France
- Credited to
- François Jacob and Jacques Monod
- People
- 👤 François Jacob1920–2013👤 Jacques L. Monod1910–1976
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
A model in which a repressor controls the transcription of a group of genes depending on the presence of lactose. The first mechanism of gene regulation: genes switch on and off.
Nobel Prize 1965, with André Lwoff.
What it led to
- biology of gene regulation and transcription factors
- molecular developmental biology
- synthetic biology (genetic circuits)
- inducible expression in biotechnology
Built on
- mRNA
- bacterial genetics (Lederberg)
Made possible
- Epigenetics: DNA methylation and genomic imprinting1975-2003
- inducible promoters
- synthetic biology