This paper surveys the general theory of operon regulation as first formula
ted by Goodwin and Griffith, and then goes on to consider in detail models
of regulation of tryptophan production by Bliss, Sinha, and Santillan and M
ackey, and the interrelationships between them. We further give a linear st
ability analysis of the Santillan and Mackey model for wild type E. coli as
well as three different mutant strains that have been previously studied i
n the literature. This stability analysis indicates that the tryptophan pro
duction systems should be stable, which is in accord with our numerical res
ults. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.