Chapter 20: Biotechnology and Beyond Flashcards
What is biotechnology?
the engineering of genes, cells, and organisms for research
What is DNA cloning?
producing many copies of a DNA sequence of interest (use Plasmids to Produce)
What is a vector?
plasmid used to make copied of a foreign DNA sequence
What are the basic steps of DNA cloning?
- add gene to plasmid
- force bacteria to take up plasmid from environment
- produce and harvest the product
What are restriction endonuclease?
bacterial enzymes that cut DNA at specific base sequences
What are sticky ends?
single-stranded bases on fragment cut by restriction enzymes
How do plasmids identify restriction sites?
- choose a plasmid with a single restriction site
- design a gene w/ matching restriction sites near its ends
How do plasmids add restriction enzymes?
- cuts the DNA at each restriction site
- sticky ends result on both plasmid and gene
How is a gene inserted into a plasmid?
- sticky ends on plasmid and on gene complementary base pair; gene becomes part of the plasmid
What is transformation?
incorporation of external DNA into a cell
What is PCR?
- polymerase chain reaction
- DNA synthesis rxn where products serve as templates for subsequent reactions
- results in exponential increase of targeted region of DNA
What is the most important part of the PCR?
template DNA: piece of DNA you want to amplify
What is Taq polymerase?
isolated from the heat-tolerant bacteria thermus aquaticus
What is the limitation of PCR?
must have prior knowledge of the target DNA sequence in order to design primers
What are the PCR advantages?
- very sensitive (require small amount of template DNA)
- fast
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