Question

Why are the −10 and −35 regions of prokaryotic promoters called consensus sequences?

a) Because they are unique to each gene
b) Because they are recognized by ribosomes
c) Because they are commonly found in many promoters
d) Because they code for amino acids

Answer 1

The -10 and -35 regions of prokaryotic promoters are called consensus sequences because they are similar across all promoters and bacterial species. They are recognized and bound by the sigma factor of RNA polymerase.

Step-by-step explanation:

The -10 and -35 regions of prokaryotic promoters are called consensus sequences because they are similar across all promoters and across various bacterial species. These consensus sequences are recognized and bound by the sigma factor of the RNA polymerase, which then allows the core enzyme to bind to the site. The -10 region consensus sequence is TATAAT, while the -35 region consensus sequence is TTGACA.