Biotechnology: Chp 20 Flashcards
genetic engineering
the process of manipulating genes and genomes
biotechnology
the process of manipulating organisms or their components for the purpose of making useful products
recombinant DNA
DNA that has been artifically made, using DNA from different sources and often different species.
gene cloning
the process by which scientists can produce multiple copies of specific segments of DNA that they can then work with in the lab
restriction enzymes
used to cut strands of DNA at specific locations (restriction sites)
restriction fragments
results of when a DNA molecule is cute by restriction enzymes
sticky ends
signle stranded end of the cut DNA molecule
DNA ligase
an enzyme that glues the complementary sigle-stranded DNA together through hydrogen bonds
steps to cloning a gene
1: identify and isolate the gene of interest and cloning vector
2: cut both the gene of interest and the vector with the same restriction enzyme
3: join the two pieces of DNA
4: get the vector carrying the gene of interest into a host cell
5: sekect for cells that have been transformed
nucleic acid hybridization
process used to find the gene of interest
genomic library
set of thousands of recombinant plasmid clones
cDNA library
made up of complementary DNA made from mRNA transcribed by reverse transcriptase
polymerase chain reaction
a method used to amplify a particular piece of DNA without the use of cells. PCR is used to amplify DNA when the source is impure or scanty
gel electrophoresis
a lab technique used to seperate macromolecules, promarily DNA and proteins. method:
1: an electric current is applied to the field. DNA is negatively charged and migrated to the positive electrode
2: agarose gel is used as a matrix to separate molecules by size. the gel allows smaller molecules to move more easily than larger fragments of DNA.
3: the DNA must be stained or tagged for visualization
stem cells
can both reproduce itself indefinitely and produced other specialized cells
