similar ways. Because silencers have not been thoroughly identified and analyzed, the extensive research on enhancers has aided biologists in understanding the mechanics of the silencer. Enhancers can be found in many of the same areas that silencers are found, such as upstream of the promoter by many kilobase pairs, or even downstream within the intron of the gene. DNA looping is also a model function used by enhancers in order to shorten the proximity of the promoter to the enhancer. Enhancers also function with transcription factors in order to initiate expression, much like silencers can with repressors. In prokaryotes and eukaryotes Prokaryotes There are several differences in the regulation of metabolic control in eukaryotes and in prokaryotes. Prokaryotes vary the numbers of specific enzymes made in their cells in order to regulate gene expression, which is slow metabolic control, and also regulate enzymatic pathways through mechanisms such as feedback inhibition and allosteric regulation, which is rapid metabolic control. The genes of prokaryotes are grouped together based on similar functions into units called operons which consist of a promoter and an operator. The operator is the binding site for the repressor and thus has a function equivalent to the silencer region in Eukaryotic DNA. When a repressor protein is bound to the operator, RNA polymerase cannot bind to the promoter to initiate the transcription of the operon. Repression of the lac operon The lac operon in the prokaryote E. coli consists of genes that produce enzymes to break down lactose. Its operon is an example of a prokaryotic silencer. The three functional genes in this operon are lacZ, lacY, and lacA. The repressor gene, lacI, will produce the repressor protein LacI which is under allosteric regulation. These genes are activated by the presence of lactose in the cell which acts as an effector molecule that binds to LacI. When the repressor is bound to lactose, it will not bind to the operator, which allows RNA polymerase to bind to the promoter to initiate transcription of the operon. When the repressor's allosteric site is not bound to lactose, its active site will bind to the operator to prevent RNA polymerase from transcribing the genes of the lac operon. Eukaryotes Eukaryotes have a much larger genome and thus have different methods of gene regulation than in prokaryotes. All cells in a eukaryotic organism have the same DNA but are specified through differential