The function of lacI in the regulation of the lac operon is that it encodes a repressor that, in the absence of lactose, binds to the lac operator and blocks the expression of the structural genes. Thus, the correct option is C.
Lac operon may be defined as an operon or a set of genes with a single promoter that encodes genes for the carrier and metabolism of lactose in E. coli and other bacterial species.
The concept of the operon was first proposed by Jacob and Monod in 1961.
The lacI gene product, the lac repressor, is expressed from a separate transcriptional unit upstream from the operator.
When lactose is absent, the lacI gene regulates and produces repressor mRNA which translates repression.
Therefore, it is well described above.
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