Genes are regulated so that they are expressed only when the product is needed, since expression draws on limited resources.:7 A cell regulates its gene expression depending on its external environment (e.g. available nutrients, temperature and other stresses), its internal environment (e.g. <answer>cell division cycle, metabolism, infection status</answer>), and its specific role if in a multicellular organism. Gene expression can be regulated at any step: from transcriptional initiation, to RNA processing, to post-translational modification of the protein. The regulation of lactose metabolism genes in E. coli (lac operon) was the first such mechanism to be described in 1961.
What are examples of a cell's internal environment?
cell division cycle, metabolism, infection status