Biotechnology :: essays research papers

1. a)The Use of a Bacterial Plasmid to ringer and Sequence a Human GeneThe sue begins with restriction endonucleases scan and binding to double-stranded desoxyribonucleic acid at specific family-pair sequences, the recognition sites, in a predictable manner. The restriction sites atomic number 18 usually 4 to 8 base pairs long and are characterized by the palindromic sequences, with both strands having the same sequence when take up in opposite direction. After the restriction endonuclease binds, it starts to disrupt, victimisation hydrolysis, the phosphodiester bonds between dwell nucleotides, causing the H-bonds between base pairs in the fireting region to be broken. This cuts the sea captain double-stranded desoxyribonucleic acid strand, producing two deoxyribonucleic acid components, which may differ for diametric restriction endonucleases, depending on where the phosphodiester bond is broken when cut by the endonuclease. This process can produce either blunt ends (w here ends of the DNA fragment are fully paired with no overhangs), or sticky ends (where both DNA fragments have nucleotides lacking complementary bases and overhangs are produced). However, sticky ends are more(prenominal) useful for genetic engineering. The next step, colloidal gel electrophoresis, separates the gene that has been excised, from the unwanted fragments winning advantage of chemical and physical properties of DNA. The DNA fragments travel through gel as a result of charge passed through it causing the drawn-out fragments to separate from shorter ones, which helps in identifying gene and makes it easier to cut it out from the gel. The DNA fragment with the desired gene is, therefore, excised and purified. The same restriction endonuclease, that is used to cut the original DNA strand, then splices this gene into a plasmid (small, circular DNA molecules found in bacteria). Because the plasmid and the foreign gene are cut by the same restriction endonuclease, the stic ky ends formed, are complementary and moderate to each other forming H-bonds. The DNA ligase reforms the phosphodiester bonds, after which, the recombinant plasmid with the foreign DNA, is introduced into the bacterial cell, in the process of transformation, and replicates to form clones (exact copies of itself). Overall, this technique of altering sequence of DNA molecules became very useful for many reasons, one of which is production of hormones. Hormones such as insulin and somatropin, were produced by inserting a gene into a plasmid, and became essential hormones in health check practice. In this process, the needed human genes were incorporated into plasmids and activated or inactivated when needed, using specific inducers for promoter regions.