recombinant DNA technology Flashcards
what is meant by recombinant DNA technology
the transfer of DNA fragments from one organism to another
why does recombinant DNA technology work
genetic code is universal
therefore transcription and translation occur by the same mechanism and result in the same animo acid sequence across organisms
in which two ways can we amplify DNA fragments
in vitro - PCR
in vivo - using host cells
describe the reaction mixture in the first stage of PCR
contains the DNA fragment to be amplified
primers that are complementary to the start of the fragment
free nucleotides to match up exposed bases
DNA polymerase to create the new DNA
how can DNA probes be used to locate specific alleles
the probe is designed so that its sequence is complementary to the allele you want to find
they are labelled, amplified using PCR, then added to a sample of ssDNA
the probe will bind if the allele is present
eg predict drug response, heritable health condition
what is the purpose of DNA hybridisation
to measure the degree of difference between two strands of DNA
can be used to compare someone’s DNA to a certain gene to see if they have it
what are the benefits of genetic profiling
can identify heritable diseases very early and therefore begin to treat them before symptoms develop, reducing impact on individual
treatment can also be personalised to make it more effective
