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Operator
Also known as the "o locus". The site on the
DNA to which a repressor molecule binds to prevent the
initiation of transcription. The operator locus is a
distinct entity and exists independently of the
structural genes and the regulatory gene. It is the
structural/biochemical "switch" with which the operon
is turned on or off, and it controls the transcription
of an entire group of coordinately induced genes. One
type of mutation of the operator locus is called
operator constitutive mutants. Constitutive mutants
continually churn out the protein characteristic for
that operon because the operon unit cannot be turned
off by the repressor molecule.
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