Interferon-alpha (IFN-α) can be produced as a recombinant human protein to treat some types of cancer. The gene IFNA2 codes for IFN-α. One method of producing recombinant IFN-α uses genetically engineered Escherichia coli bacteria that contain recombinant plasmids. Each recombinant plasmid contains: • the gene IFNA2 • three regulatory sequences of the lac operon (promoter, operator and lacl) • a gene for antibiotic resistance, AMPR. Each of the sequences for the lacl gene and AMPR gene contains its own promoter. As a result, these genes are always expressed in E. coli bacteria that contain this recombinant plasmid. Fig. 2.1 is a diagram of the recombinant plasmid. The promoter regions of the lacl gene and AMPR gene are not shown. [Figure 2.1]