hw 2... sadly

1.

The purpose of the lacZ gene from Escherichia e.coli is to encode the protein B-galactosidase which is a protein important for lactose metabolism . B-gal once made can then break down the dissacharide lactose through hydrolysis to glucose and galactose to be used for glycolysis which is the main source of energy for e.coli. It as well works in a positive feedback loop where lactose becomes allolactose through transglycosylation to bind to the lacZ repressor and maintain the right amount of b-gal. Apart from its usual function it as well used in labs because B-gal reacts with X-gal and makes a blue coloring which is useful for observing colonies that have take up plasmid with the lacZ gene.

(Juers et al. 2012)