Question

fifteen different strains of bacteria are auxotrophic for maltose and their mutations do not complement each other. the mutations in these bacteria map to the same dna region using transformation of random fragments of genomic dna. only two different enzymes participate in the maltose biosynthetic pathway, and the genes for both are within a single operon. what does this data suggest?

Answer 1

The data suggests that mutations in the fifteen bacterial strains affect genes within a single operon responsible for maltose biosynthesis and that each strain contains a mutation that impacts one of the two enzymes involved, supporting the one gene-one enzyme hypothesis.

Step-by-step explanation:

The data suggesting that fifteen different strains of bacteria are auxotrophic for maltose and that their mutations do not complement each other, with mutations mapping to the same DNA region, indicates that these mutations affect genes within a single operon that are responsible for maltose biosynthesis. Given that only two different enzymes are involved in the biosynthetic pathway and the genes for both enzymes are within one operon, it can be inferred that each mutation affects one of the two enzymes, most likely at different sites that affect the enzyme's function. This can be concluded from their inability to complement. This scenario aligns with the one gene-one enzyme hypothesis proposed by Beadle and Tatum.

Furthermore, each of these bacterial strains lacks the ability to produce maltose due to defects in their maltose biosynthetic pathway. Since all the mutations are located within the same operon, it suggests a direct relationship between these genes and the specific enzymes involved in the pathway.