molecules that are artificially
made in labs and are not natural
technology that is used to create and
study these hybrid molecules
constructed from DNA obtained from
different biological sources
Cloning in host cells
1.DNA to be cloned is isolated and treated with a restriction enzyme to create fragments ending in a
specific sequence 2.The fragments are then linked to plasmid molecules that have been cut with the same
restriction enzyme creating a collection of recombinant vectors 3.The recombinant vectors are transferred
into E. Coli host cells which inside replicates to form many copies or clones. 4.The bacteria
are plated on nutrient medium, where they form colonies, and are screened to identify those that have taken
up recombinant plasmids
Yeast is widely used as a host for cloning
and expressing eukaryotic genes
Cloning without host cells
Polymerase Chain Reaction
PCR copies a specific DNA sequence through in
vitro reactions that can amplify target DNA
sequences present in very small quantities
PCR requires two oligonucleotide primers (anneal to
denatured DNA) one complementary to the 3' end of one
strand of the DNA to be amplified and one complementary
to the 3' end of the other strand (complementary strands
are synthesized by a heat-stable DNA polymerase)
three steps are denaturation, primer annealing, and extension,
which are repeated to exponentially amplify the DNA
Recombinant libraries
Genomic library
contains at least one copy of all the
sequences in the genome of interest
number of clones needed to give certain
probability of containing all genomic
sequences is calculated as N=ln(1-P)/ln(1-f),
where N is the number of required clones, P is
the probability of recovering a sequence, and f
is the fraction of the genome in each clone
cDNA library
contains complementary DNA copies made from
the mRNAs present in a cell population
RT-PCR can be used to generate cDNA from mRNA by first
making a single-stranded cDNA copy of the mRNAs using
reverse transcriptase, and then using PCR to copy the
single-stranded DNA into double-stranded DNA
Specific clones can be recovered from a library
probe is any DNA or RNA sequence that has
been labelled in some way and is
complementary to some part of a cloned
sequence present in the library
to screen a plasmid library, clones from the library
are grown on agar plates to produce colonies and
then a filter is hybridized with a nucleic acid probe to
the DNA sequence of interest, and the
corresponding colony to the one identified on the
filter by the probe is identified and recovered
Analysis of cloned sequences
Restriction map
establishes the number, order, and distance
between restriction sites on a cloned DNA segment
Southern blot
identify which clones in a library contain a given DNA sequence and
to characterize the size of the fragments from restriction digest
Northern blot
involve RNA bound to a filter and provide information regarding
the expression of specific genes and the transcript sizes
DNA sequencing
most common method of DNA sequencing is dideoxy
chain termination sequencing developed by Sanger
large-scale genome sequencing is
automated and uses fluorescent dye
labelled dideoxynucleotides
genomes of numerous prokaryotes and eukaryotes, including humans, have been fully sequenced
Basic procedure for recombinant DNA technology
1.DNA to be cloned is purified from cells or tissues
2.Restriction enzymes are used to generate specific
DNA fragments 3.The fragments produced are joined to
other DNA molecules that serve as vectors creating a
recombinant DNA molecule 4.The recombinant DNA
molecule is transferred into a host cell where it
replicates/clones of the rDNA 5.As host cells replicate,
the cloned DNA molecules within them are passed on
to all their clones creating a population of host cells
6.The cloned DNA can be recovered from host cells for
use in commercial applications or in research
Recombinant DNA molecules are
constructed from several components
Restriction enzymes
produced by bacteria and they
restrict or prevent viral infection by
degrading DNA of invading viruses
they cut the genome into smaller
fragments that can be manipulated,
separated, copied and analysed individually
it binds to DNA and recognises a
specific nucleotide sequence (recognition
sequence) and cuts both strands of the
DNA within that sequence
they are useful because, in cloning
derives, of their ability to accurately and
reproducible cut genomic DNA into
fragments (restriction fragments)
Vectors
they are carrier DNA molecules that can
replicate cloned DNA fragments in a host cell
they must be able to independently
replicate and should have several
restriction enzyme sites to allow
insertion of a DNA fragment
a plasmid is an extra chromosomal
double-stranded DNA molecule that
replicates independently in bacterial cells
plasmids used for DNA cloning
have been engineered to contain
a number of convenient restriction
sites and a marker gene to select
for its presence in the host cell