induction

induction, in enzymology, a metabolic control mechanism with the effect of increasing the rate of synthesis of an enzyme. In induction, synthesis of a specific enzyme, called an inducible enzyme (e.g., β-galactosidase in Escherichia coli), occurs when cells are exposed to the substance (substrate) upon which the enzyme acts to form a product.

Formation of β-galactosidase has been shown to be controlled by a so-called regulator gene presumed to specify a protein, called a repressor protein, that binds to the region of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) responsible for directing the synthesis of the enzyme. If substrate is present, it acts as an inducer by combining with the repressor so as to prevent its binding to DNA. As a result, the enzyme is synthesized; i.e., its formation by the microorganism is induced.

Such mechanisms are important in the cell because they prevent the synthesis of enzymes that a cell cannot use; e.g., β-galactosidase is needed only when its substrate (lactose or galactose) is present.