In a particular bacterial mutant, a specific gene is not producing a mrna or the corresponding protein. researchers sequence the gene and determine that there are no mutations in the coding portion of the gene. choose the structures that could be mutated to explain these observations.

Question: In a particular bacterial mutant, a specific gene is not producing a mrna or the corresponding protein. researchers sequence the gene and determine that there are no mutations in the coding portion of the gene. choose the structures that could be mutated to explain these observations.

The structures that could be mutated to explain why a specific gene is not producing mRNA or the corresponding protein, even though there are no mutations in the coding portion of the gene, are:

Promoter: The promoter is a region of DNA upstream of the gene that is responsible for initiating transcription. Mutations in the promoter can prevent RNA polymerase from binding to the DNA and starting transcription.

Enhancers: Enhancers are regulatory sequences of DNA that can bind transcription factors and increase the rate of transcription. Mutations in enhancers can decrease the rate of transcription or prevent transcription altogether.

Silencers: Silencers are regulatory sequences of DNA that can bind transcription factors and decrease the rate of transcription. Mutations in silencers can increase the rate of transcription or prevent transcription altogether.

Splice sites: Splice sites are sequences of DNA that signal to the splicing machinery where to cut and rejoin the pre-mRNA transcript. Mutations in splice sites can cause the pre-mRNA to be spliced incorrectly, which can produce a non-functional mRNA or no mRNA at all.

Polyadenylation signal: The polyadenylation signal is a sequence of DNA that signals to the splicing machinery where to add the polyA tail to the pre-mRNA transcript. Mutations in the polyadenylation signal can prevent the polyA tail from being added, which can make the mRNA unstable and less likely to be translated.

These are just a few of the structures that could be mutated to explain why a specific gene is not producing mRNA or the corresponding protein. Mutations in other regions of the gene, such as the introns, can also affect gene expression.

It is important to note that the specific structure that is mutated will depend on the specific gene and the type of mutation. For example, mutations in the promoter are more likely to affect the expression of housekeeping genes, which are genes that are expressed in all cells. Mutations in enhancers or silencers are more likely to affect the expression of tissue-specific genes, which are genes that are only expressed in certain types of cells.