Below are the actual findings from the experiment and are summarized in Table 1.

araA RNA Levels
Genotype in the absence of arabinose in the presence of arabinose
araC*(normal cells) low high
araC"(mutant cells) high low

Knowing the results now answer, do the results in Table 1 indicate that the AraC protein regulates arabinose metabolism by acting as a gene repressor or a gene activator? Explain your answer.