Question

Cells can alter gene expression through variety of mechanisms. What advantage does this ability to regulate gene expression offer to an individual organism?

Answer 1

In this context, one of the main advantages of a regulated system of gene expression is the differentiation and specialization. This is mostly observed in eukaryotic organisms where cells are able to turn on or turn off some genes in order to differentiate into a specific type of cell. This allows organisms to form tissues and organs and accomplish different metabolic functions.

Other advantage is the possibility of express more than one functional protein from one gene. This is accomplished by different mechanisms. The most popular is the alternative splicing where exons and introns of a gene are reorganized in order to translate a different protein.