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Chap 20
DNA technology and genomics
28
Biology
Undergraduate 2
12/13/2011

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Term
What is biotechnology?
Definition

the manipulation of living things for a useful end product

for example: the domestication of plants and animals, use of organisms for medical purposes

Term
What is genetic engineering?
Definition
the direct manipulation of genes for practical pruposes depending on methods used for making recombination DNA (DNA from 2 different sources)
Term
What is the difference between biotechnology and genetic engineering?
Definition

genetic engineering is a type of modern biotechnology

 

genetic engineering happens immediately with the direct manipulation of genes - unlike domestication which happens over a length of time

Term
What is recombination DNA and how is it produced?
Definition

DNA taken from two different sources

 

uses restriction enzymes that cut DNA at a restriction site with a specific N base sequence

the fragments have sticky ends which can bind to sticky ends of other fragments

 

DNA mismatch and mixup

Term
What are restriction enzymes (endonucleases)
Definition

enzymes that cut a specific point on the DNA at a very specific nitrogen base sequence

 

100s have been identified

first bound in bacteria in which they cut up foreign DNA from viruses 

Term
How are restriction enzymes used when making recombination DNA?
Definition

they cut DNA at a restrition site with a specific N base sequence resulting in restriction fragments which can bind ends to other restriction fragments

 

if DNA from 2 sources is cut with the same restriction enzyme then they will have the same N bases on their sticky ends and can be put back together 

Term
What are sticky ends  and why are they important?
Definition

they are single stranded sections of DNA which can bind to the sticky ends of other fragments with complementary N base sequences 

 

2 ends from different sources can bind together to long as they have complementary base sequences

Term
What is genomics? What is a genome?
Definition

genomics is the study of genomes


genome - a complete amount of an organisms genes 

Term
How do we clone  genes?
Definition

by use of plasmids 

 

plasmids are used as vectors to carry DNA into bacterial cells,

the host bacterial cell is then grown in a culture

and replicates, or reproduces, providing for protein and gene harvesting and research

Term
What are the different types of genomic libraries?
Definition
plasmid, phage, and complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries
Term
What is a plasmid library?
Definition
a collection of many bacterial clones with plasmids containing a specific DNA segment of a foreign genome 
Term
What is a phage libary?
Definition
a collection of many phage (virus) clones that each have a specific DNA segment of a foreign genome
Term
What is a cDNA library and how does it differ complete libraries?
Definition

collection of complementary DNA strands of extracted mRNA

 

cDNA libraries study cells at a certain stage of its life - for studying gene expression 


they only contain part of the genome - the set of genes that were being transcribed into mRNA at the time the mRNA was extracted 

Term

What is the function of PCR?

 

Definition

polymerase chain reaction - allows to quickly and selectively amplify or make many copies of a section of DNA

 

requires only minute amounts of the original DNA

 

useful for extinct species such as wooly mammoth

Term
What are the steps of PCR (including the functions of primers, DNA polymerase, and the DNA nucleotides)
Definition
  1. denaturation of DNA
  2. annealing of primers (cooling off primers)
  3. extension of DNA - from free DNA nucleotides 
primers are single stranded DNA complementary to the DNA flanking the target sequence. they find the target area and bind to it
 
DNA polymerase  adds complementary DNA nucleotides to the primers forming double stranded DNA
 
each cycle of PCR doubles the target DNA 
Term
How is restriction fragment analysis useful?
Definition

it detects differences in DNA

 

  • to see how one gene differs from species to species helping us to understand evolutionary history
  • to see if different alleles exist for a gene among people

 

 

Term
How is restriction fragment analysis used with gel electophoresis?
Definition

gel electrophoresis separates charged molecules of different length by their migration through a gelatin slab to which an electrical field is applied 

 

short fragments move more quickly than long fragments towards the + end of the pole 

 

DNA is stained with dye

 

if DNA samples cut with the same restriction enzyme produce different patterns then that DNA came from a different source

Term
What is the function of gel electrophoresis?
Definition

to separate DNA molecules in order to distinguish differences between different lengths of fragmented DNA 

 

to determine things like the source, or carriers of a disease

Term
What are the steps in performing gel electrophoresis?
Definition

DNA fragments are placed in wells of the gelatin slab to which the electrical field is applied

 

since DNA is - it will moved towards the + electrode

 

if DNA samples produce different band patterns then the DNA came from different sources

Term
In gel electrophoresis the DNA is put at which end - positive or negative, why?
Definition
negative because the DNA has a negative charge
Term
Which of the fragments will move more quickly - the smallest or largest?
Definition
smaller, shorter fragments move more quickly than longer fragments
Term
What are RFLP's?
Definition

restriction fragment length polymorphisms 

referrs to the different restriction sides for a particular enzyme (from chromosomes of varying people) at non coding regions of homologous chromosomes 

Term
How are RFLPs useful to us?
Definition
they can be used as genetic markers in that when DNA from different people is cut with the same enzyme in RFLP regions it produces fragments of different length which can be separated by gel electrophoresis and different band patterns are produced
Term
What were the objectives of the human genome project?
Definition
  • identify the order and location of all human genes
  • sequence all 3.5 billion base pairs of the human genome
  • store in databases, improve tools for data analysis and make data available for private and public sector
Term
What were the major findings  of the human genome project?
Definition

the number of human genes (20,488 with possibly 100 more to be discovered)

 

all human DNA is 99.9% identical (the .1 still being 3 million differences in N bases)

 

humans are genetically similar to other organisms such as chimps, mice, and yeast

Term
How many base pairs are in the human genome? How many genes?
Definition
there are 3.5 billion base pairs and 20,488 (+100[?]) genes
Term
What is gene therapy?
Definition
treatment of single gene disorders by inserting normal alleles into somatic cells of the infected individual
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