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λ Repressor and cro—components of an efficient molecular switch

Nature volume 294, pages 217–223 (1981)Cite this article

Abstract

In a lysogen, most genes of phage λ are repressed; in response to a transient induction signal, they are efficiently switched on. The switch, which consists in part of a tripartite operator to which two regulatory proteins bind, depends not only on DNA–protein interactions, but also on effects transmitted from one DNA-bound protein to another. λ exemplifies a strategy that facilitates efficient switching between two physiological states in response to a transient signal.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Anthony R. Poteete

    Present address: Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, 01605, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Biological Laboratories, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    Alexander D. Johnson, Anthony R. Poteete, Gail Lauer & Mark Ptashne

  2. Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA

    Robert T. Sauer

  3. Department of Biology and McCollum–Pratt Institute, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218, USA

    Gary K. Ackers

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  5. Gary K. Ackers
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  6. Mark Ptashne
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Johnson, A., Poteete, A., Lauer, G. et al. λ Repressor and cro—components of an efficient molecular switch. Nature 294, 217–223 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/294217a0

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