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What are the major differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic gene expression?
Posted August 25, 2022
Answer
| Prokaryotic gene expression | Eukaryotic gene expression |
| Prokaryotic gene expression is the mechanism of synthesizing a gene in relation to the information encoded in prokaryotic genes | process of synthesizing a functional gene product depending on the information on eukaryotic genes |
| Occurs in the cytoplasm | Transcription occurs in the nucleus and translation occurs in the cytoplasm |
| Prokaryotic DNA is not in permanently condensed form | Forms a stable condensed complex with histones present |
| Transcription and translation occur at the same time | Transcription and translation occur at slightly different times |
| Uses a single RNA polymerase | Uses RNA polymerase I, II, and III |
| Introns don’t interfere with the open reading frame | Introns interfere with the open reading frame |
| Contain three promoter elements: one upstream towards the gene, one 10 nucleotides downstream, and one 35 nucleotides downstream | Uses the TATA box as its promotor element |
| Does not include post-transcriptional modifications | Includes post-transcriptional modifications |
| Prokaryotic genes occur in operons | Eukaryotic genes occur individually |
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