🧪 General Principles🟢 BasicMolecular Biology

Recombinant DNA Technology

The laboratory tools that cut, join, copy and read DNA, which underpin modern molecular biology and biotechnology.

Key points

Restriction endonucleases cut DNA at specific palindromic sequences, often leaving sticky ends that let fragments from different sources be joined.
DNA ligase seals the fragments, and a vector such as a plasmid carries the insert into a host cell where it is copied as the cell divides.
The polymerase chain reaction amplifies a chosen sequence in a tube through repeated cycles of denaturation, primer annealing and extension by a heat-stable polymerase.
Gel electrophoresis separates DNA fragments by size, since the negatively charged DNA migrates towards the positive electrode.
Complementary DNA is made from messenger RNA by reverse transcriptase, giving an intron-free copy of an expressed gene.
These tools let human proteins such as insulin be made in bacteria, and they power DNA fingerprinting and gene cloning.

Cut with a restriction enzyme, paste with ligase, carry with a vector, copy with PCR and read with electrophoresis.

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🧪 General Principles🟢 BasicMolecular Biology

The laboratory tools that cut, join, copy and read DNA, which underpin modern molecular biology and biotechnology.

Restriction endonucleases cut DNA at specific palindromic sequences, often leaving sticky ends that let fragments from different sources be joined.
DNA ligase seals the fragments, and a vector such as a plasmid carries the insert into a host cell where it is copied as the cell divides.
The polymerase chain reaction amplifies a chosen sequence in a tube through repeated cycles of denaturation, primer annealing and extension by a heat-stable polymerase.
Gel electrophoresis separates DNA fragments by size, since the negatively charged DNA migrates towards the positive electrode.
Complementary DNA is made from messenger RNA by reverse transcriptase, giving an intron-free copy of an expressed gene.
These tools let human proteins such as insulin be made in bacteria, and they power DNA fingerprinting and gene cloning.

Cut with a restriction enzyme, paste with ligase, carry with a vector, copy with PCR and read with electrophoresis.