Unit 3, Part 1 Flashcards
What is biotechnology?
Engineering biology to make stuff
Biotechnology involves using living organisms or biological systems to create or modify products for human use.
What are common molecular techniques used in biotechnology?
- Isolation
- Manipulation
- Analysis of DNA, RNA, and proteins
These techniques are fundamental in the field of molecular biology.
What is recombinant DNA technology?
Method of joining 2 or more DNA molecules to create a hybrid
This technology allows for the movement of a gene from one species to another.
What is insulin and its significance?
Hormone produced in the pancreas, essential for using sugar for energy
Lack of insulin leads to high blood sugar and diabetes.
What is the historical significance of insulin extraction?
Took more than two tons of pig parts to extract just eight ounces of purified insulin
This was the method before recombinant insulin was developed.
What is restriction endonucleases?
Enzymes that recognize and cut specific DNA sequences
They are key lab tools that produce DNA fragments with a cohesive sequence at each end.
What are vectors in biotechnology?
Small pieces of DNA that can be stably maintained in an organism
Vectors are used to insert foreign DNA fragments.
What is the difference between cloning vectors and expression vectors?
Cloning vectors are used for making identical copies; expression vectors are used to produce proteins
Cloning vectors must include origin of replication, selectable markers, and unique restriction sites.
What is PCR?
Polymerase Chain Reaction, a method for DNA amplification
It is often described as ‘DNA replication in a tube’ and allows amplification of DNA segments billionfold.
What are the components required for PCR?
- Template DNA
- Heat-stable DNA polymerase (e.g., Taq polymerase)
- Primers
These components are essential for DNA amplification in PCR processes.
What is gel electrophoresis?
Laboratory method used to separate mixtures of DNA, RNA, or proteins by size
It is commonly used to analyze DNA fragments.
What is a DNA probe?
A labeled, short sequence of DNA or RNA complementary to a sequence of interest
Probes are used to detect specific DNA sequences in gel electrophoresis.
What is the role of Taq polymerase in PCR?
It is a heat-stable DNA polymerase used for DNA amplification
Taq polymerase does not proofread, which can affect accuracy.
What is the formula for calculating PCR amplification?
X = 2^n
X represents the number of DNA strands and n represents the number of cycles.
What are common uses of PCR?
- Amplifying DNA for research
- Disease diagnostics
- Forensics
- Detection of pathogens
PCR is a versatile tool in molecular biology.
What can be rate-limiting factors in PCR reactions?
- DNA template
- Taq Polymerase
- dNTPs
- RNA primers
- DNA primers
Each of these components can affect the efficiency of PCR.
Fill in the blank: The method of _________ involves introducing plasmids into bacteria.
Transformation
Transformation is a process where bacteria take up DNA from their environment.
Fill in the blank: The most common cloning vector is the __________.
Bacterial plasmid
Plasmids are naturally occurring circular DNA in bacteria.
True or False: PCR can amplify any DNA, not just the target organism’s DNA.
True
This can lead to contamination issues in PCR experiments.
What is the maximum DNA size that plasmids can hold?
15 kb
Other vectors like BACs can hold larger DNA sequences.
Fill in the blank: The process of _________ is used to separate DNA by size in a gel.
Gel electrophoresis
This technique allows visualization of DNA fragments after amplification.
