Yeast Cloning + Sequencing Flashcards
Which organism did we clone DNA from?
yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Describe yeast
a unicellular, eukaryotic organism that can reproduce asexually or sexually
What is the number of homologous pairs of chromosomes in haploid yeast cells?
n = 16
What is the number of homologous pairs of chromosomes in diploid yeast cells?
n = 32
Why is yeast a model organism?
small organism
short life cycle
can be grown in large quantities in lab
cheap to grow
grows in liquid and solid medium
contains organelles
does mitosis for asexual reproduction
does meiosis for sexual reproduction
70% of genome is coding region
23% of genome is similar to humans
full genome has been sequenced
What is the overall purpose of this lab?
to clone a fragment of the S. cerevisiae genome into the pUC19 plasmid by creating recombinant DNA and to be sequenced and analyzed to determine which fragment was cloned and its function
What is a cloning vector?
a piece of DNA that can have a small fragment of another foreign DNA fragment inserted into it
What is the cloning vector in this experiment?
pUC19
What is pUC19?
a bacterial plasmid (plasmid University of California #19)
Describe bacterial plasmid
small, circular pieces of DNA that replicate independently from the bacterial genome
Why is pUC19 a useful cloning vector?
because it is a bacterial plasmid, and plasmids allow the isolation, analysis, and manipulation of DNA fragments because they replicate separately from the bacterial genome
What are the 4 major characteristics of pUC19 plasmid that make it useful for this experiment?
presence of:
AmpR gene
ORI
LacZ gene
Multiple cloning site (MCS)
Why is the AmpR gene important in this experiment? which organism has this?
AmpR gene codes for resistance to the antibiotic ampicillin which is used in the media for this experiment
pUC19 has this
Why is the ORI an important quality of pUC19?
the origin of replication allows for independent replication in bacterial host that does not require the entire bacterial genome to replicate - faster replication can occur
Why is the MCS an important quality of pUC19 plasmid?
the multiple cloning site is a region of the plasmid DNA that contains various restriction sites, one of which will be used to cut the circular DNA with a restriction enzyme so that the yeast fragment can be inserted
Why is the lacZ gene an important quality of pUC19 plasmid?
a gene located in the MCS that codes for the beta-galactosidase enzyme which is important for blue-white screening
Which restriction enzyme is used? why?
EcoRI because it recognizes restriction sites in both the pUC19 plasmid DNA and the yeast DNA
What is EcoRI isolated from?
bacteria
What is the purpose of EcoRI in bacteria?
restriction enzymes like EcoRI provide defence for the bacteria against foreign viruses as they can chop them up
How do bacteria protect themselves from being digested by their own restriction enzymes?
bacteria methylate their DNA so the restriction enzyme cannot recognize the restriction site sequences and cut up the genome
What sequence does EcoRI recognize in pUC19?
a 6 bp sequence: 5’ - GAATTC - 3’ located in the MCS
How does EcoRI cut the restriction sequence? What results?
it makes a staggered cut between the G and the A to create sticky, complimentary ends and a linear plasmid
What are the first steps of the project?
to isolate yeast genomic DNA
to digest pUC19 with EcoRI and to dephosphorylate the digested pUC19
What is the purpose of SDS solution (when it is used at any point in this procedure)?
to break down cell walls in yeast
to dissolve cell membranes in bacteria
What is the name of the kit used to isolate the yeast DNA?
GeneJet Genomic DNA Purification Kit
What reagents are included in the GeneJet Genomic DNA Purification Kit?
digestion solution
proteinase K
lysis solution
RNase A
purification column containing silica (not a reagent)
What is the purpose of the digestion solution in the isolation of yeast?
it prepares conditions for digestion
What is the purpose of proteinase K in the isolation of yeast? what kit is it apart of?
proteinase K digests the proteins in the yeast
GeneJet Genomic DNA Purification Kit
What is the purpose of RNase A in the isolation of yeast? What kit is it in?
it removes RNA from the yeast
GeneJet Genomic DNA Purification Kit
What is the purpose of lysis solution in the isolation of yeast? What kit is it in?
ensures the cell is entirely lysed + maintains the pH of required for DNA to bind to the silica membrane of the purification column
GeneJet Genomic DNA Purification Kit
What is ethanol used for while isolating yeast?
ethanol promotes the binding of the yeast DNA to the silica column
What is the purpose of the wash buffers in the GeneJet Genomic DNA purification kit used to isolate yeast?
as the DNA is bound to the silica column, they will wash away impurities
What is the purpose of the elution buffer in the isolation of the yeast DNA?
it allows the yeast DNA to be removed from the silica membrane of the purification column
What restriction enzyme is used to digest pUC19?
EcoRI
Why does pUC19 need to be dephosphorylated after it is digested?
to prevent the rebinding of the cut sticky ends during the ligation reaction
What is used to dephosphorylate pUC19?
alkaline phosphatase
How does alkaline phosphatase dephosphorylate pUC19?
it catalyzes the release of the 5’ phosphate group from the plasmid DNA to prevent cut ends from rebinding during ligation
What procedures were done after the yeast DNA was isolated and the pUC19 DNA was digested and DeP?
yeast DNA was digested with restriction enzyme
competent JM101 E. coli cells prepared
ligation reaction to produce recombinant DNA
transformation and plating