Bistability of the naturally induced lactose utilization system of Escherichia coli

In the absence of the preferred sugar glucose, lactose utilization machinery in the bacterium E. coli is activated. The genetic circuit responsible for this response, lac operon, has been observed to exhibit bistability when induced by an artificial inducer, TMG. Here we investigate conditions under which bistability might be observed in response to lactose. The aim of our study is to establish whether the natural system exhibits bistability, as is often assumed despite the lack of experimental support.