Statement I : The regulatory gene in the lac operon is the "i" gene, which codes for the inducer of the operon.

Statement II: The z gene in the lac operon codes for beta-galactosidase, which hydrolyzes lactose into galactose and glucose.

Only statement II is correct.

The correct answer is Option (2) -Only statement II is correct.

In lac operon (here lac refers to lactose), a polycistronic structural gene is regulated by a common promoter and regulatory genes.

The lac operon consists of one regulatory gene (the i gene – here the term i does not refer to inducer, rather it is derived from the word inhibitor) and three structural genes (z, y, and a).

The i gene codes for the repressor protein of the lac operon.

The z gene codes for beta-galactosidase (β-gal), which is primarily responsible for the hydrolysis of the disaccharide, lactose into its monomeric units, galactose and glucose.

The y gene codes for permease, which increases permeability of the cell to β-galactosides.

The a gene encodes a transacetylase. Hence, all the three gene products in lac operon are required for metabolism of lactose.

In most other operons as well, the genes present in the operon are needed together to function in the same or related metabolic pathway.