The correct answer is Option C: Permease.

Lactose, a disaccharide sugar composed of glucose and galactose, needs particular mechanisms to be transported into bacterial cells for metabolism. Among the options provided, permease is the protein responsible for this function. Specifically, in the case of bacterial cells such as Escherichia coli, the lactose permease enzyme plays a crucial role.

Lactose permease is encoded by the lacY gene, which is part of the lac operon. The lac operon is a famous example of gene regulation in bacteria. When lactose is present outside the cell, lactose permease facilitates its transport into the cell across the cell membrane. Once inside, lactose can be utilized as a source of energy and carbon.

Once lactose is inside the bacterial cell:

• It is broken down by the enzyme β-galactosidase into glucose and galactose. This enzyme is encoded by the lacZ gene, which is a different component of the lac operon.

We can rule out the other options because:

• Beta-galactosidase (Option A) is involved in the hydrolysis of lactose into glucose and galactose but not in its transport.
• Acetylase (Option B) refers to enzymes involved in the addition of acetyl groups to substrates, unrelated to sugar transport.
• Polymerase (Option D) are enzymes that synthesize RNA and DNA, thus also unrelated to transporting sugars like lactose.

Thus, to facilitate the transport of lactose across the cell membrane into the bacterial cell, lactose permease (Option C) is required, making it the correct choice.