Maltose utilization in E. coli requires the proteins encoded by genes in three different operons. One operon includes the genes malE, malF, and malG; the second includes malK and lamB; and the genes...

Maltose utilization in E. coli requires the proteins encoded by genes in three different operons. One operon
includes the genes malE, malF, and malG; the second
includes malK and lamB; and the genes in the third
operon are malP and malQ. The MalT protein is a
positive regulator that controls the expression of all
three operons; expression of the malT gene itself is
catabolite sensitive.
a. What phenotype would you expect to result from a
loss-of-function mutation in the malT gene?
b. Do you expect the three maltose operons to contain
binding sites for CRP (cAMP receptor protein)?
Why or why not?
In order to infect E. coli, bacteriophage λ binds to the
maltose transport protein LamB (also known as the λ
receptor protein) that is found in the outer membrane
of the bacterial cell. The synthesis of LamB is induced by maltose in the medium via expression of the
MalT protein, as described above