L1-3 quiz

• plasmid is commonly used as a vector
• a plasmid is an extrachromosomal piece of DNA that can be easily isolated from bacteria to be used as a vector
• PCR amplifies a piece of DNA using sequence specific primers
• restriction enzymes are endonucleases because:

  act as nuclease (enzyme that attack nucleic acids)

  within (endo) the nucleic structure
• PCR can be used to:

  • identify and confirm food authenticity
  • in forensics
  • measure gene expression
  • amplify specific DNA sequences
• southern blotting analysis allows researchers to:

  analyse an organisms genome to identify a specific DNA sequence or gene of interest
• to carry out a DNA sequencing reaction the following compounds are required:

  single stranded DNA,, dNTP's, ddNTP's, primer, DNA polymerase
• to synthesise cDNA from a mRNA template using the polymerase chain reaction requires which enzymes?

  reverse transcriptase and thermostable DNA polymerase
• genetic engineering experiments include:

  • cleaving the source DNA
  • production of recombinant DNA
  • cloning copies of the recombinants
  • screening the cloned copies for the desired gene
• the most common way to select bacterial cells which have take up a plasmid is antibiotic resistance because:


  is encoded by a gene carried on the plasmid, so only those transformed with the plasmid will be able to grow on agar plates containing the appropriate antibiotic
• PCR includes:

  • denaturing DNA fragments to be amplified
  • annealing of primers to complementary sequences of DNA
  • primer extension with DNA polymerase
  • repeating the steps