Attenuation occurs in the biosynthetic pathway for phenylalanine in Escherichia coli. Therefore, the leader sequence for this pathway will be rich in which of the following?
A) histidine
B) isoleucine
C) phenylalanine
D) threonine

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Attenuation is the premature termination of transcription due to the formation of an mRNA hairpin loop that causes the dissociation of RNA polymerase. The biosynthetic pathway for phenylalanine is regulated by attenuation, and therefore the leader sequence for this pathway will contain a high content of phenylalanine. This allows the ribosome to quickly translate the leader sequence and prevent the formation of the hairpin loop that leads to attenuation.

Attenuation Occurs in the Biosynthetic Pathway for Phenylalanine in Escherichia