Describe a recombinant DNA molecule and explain how to make and screen for recombinants…?

2 Comments

1. dollface2380 says:

   November 21, 2009 at 11:11 am

   super pablo did a great job explaining recombinant DNA technology….. if you have any more questions, check out these links:

   http://www.biology.arizona.edu/molecular_bio/problem_sets/Recombinant_DNA_Technology/recombinant_dna.html

   http://www.med.ufl.edu/biochem/keithr/BCH4024-Technology.pdf
2. super pablo says:

   November 21, 2009 at 11:11 am

   a recombinant DNA molecule is one that contains some foreign DNA "inserted" into it, so it recombines.
   this can be within one cell or incorporation of extracellular DNA, coming either from another organism or artificially done using molecular biology techniques.

   if you made a recombinant piece of DNA, usually you want to add some kind of marker to be able to screen it.
   you screen cells after you transform them by putting them in an environment where "normal" cells would normally not survive".
   this gives you the advantage of selection, which means, whatever survives is because it has some DNA that gives it the capacity to survive. (which you can assume came from your transformation.)

   there are other ways to screen, which you can research if you need some extra information.

   restriction enzymes and gele electrophoresis can be used to "check" if the piece of DNA you added was inserted or not.

   usually, you isolate DNA from an organism which was recombined and then add a restriction enzyme specific for the region where the DNA was incorporated.
   if you were succesful you will get a large band, if you werent successful then the electrophoresis will show no band.

   hopefully that helps.