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AAT Bioquest

What is the difference between 'operon' and 'transcription unit'?

Posted April 24, 2020


Answer

A transcription unit generally denotes any segment of DNA that codes for an RNA molecule, while an operon is defined as a cluster of genes that are controlled by the same promoter. An operon can encompass multiple transcription units.

Additional resources

Okuda, S., Kawashima, S., Kobayashi, K., Ogasawara, N., Kanehisa, M., & Goto, S. (2007). Characterization of relationships between transcriptional units and operon structures in Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. BMC Genomics. 8, 48. doi:10.1186/1471-2164-8-48