operon

American  

[op-uh-ron] / ˈɒp əˌrɒn /

noun

Genetics.

1. a set of two or more adjacent cistrons whose transcription is under the coordinated control of a promoter, an operator, and a regulator gene.

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operon British  

/ ˈɒpəˌrɒn /

noun

1. genetics a group of adjacent genes in bacteria functioning as a unit, consisting of structural genes and an operator

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operon Scientific  

/ ŏp′ə-rŏn′ /

1. A sequence of genetic material that functions in a coordinated manner, consisting of an operator, a promoter, and one or more structural genes that are transcribed together. Operons were first found in prokaryotes.

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Etymology

Origin of operon

1960–65; < French opéron, equivalent to opér ( er ) to work, operate + -on -on ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

operon

Their observations showed that MraZ must undergo a structural change in order to bind successfully to the operon.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 14, 2026

In this way, MraZ acts as the key regulator controlling the activity of the operon that governs cell division in most bacterial species.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 14, 2026

The promoter region of the dcw operon contains four repeated segments, or "boxes," each composed of six nucleotides.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 14, 2026

The lac operon undergoes transcriptional attenuation and therefore is OFF by default, whereas the trp operon is not regulated by any such mechanism and is ON by default.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

Pardee, Jacob, and Monod published their monumental study on the lactose operon in 1959, six years after the Watson and Crick paper on the structure of DNA.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee