Question

the expression of the lac gene is leaky??explain​

Answer 1

Answer:

I explained that when lactose is absent, a protein—the lac repressor, encoded by the lacI gene—binds to the operator, blocking RNA polymerase from transcribing the genes of the operon into mRNA. ... In other words, the lac promoter is leaky; the proteins of the lac operon are produced at a low background level.

Answer 2

Answer:

I explained that when lactose is absent, a protein—the lac repressor, encoded by the lacI gene—binds to the operator, blocking RNA polymerase from transcribing the genes of the operon into mRNA. ... In other words, the lac promoter is leaky; the proteins of the lac operon are produced at a low background level.

In lac operon, lac refers to lactose. The lac operator is a part of the structural genes (lac Z, lac Y, lac A and lac I). It is responsible for the uptake and initial catabolism of lactose.