Real-time PCR is a variation of the standard PCR technique that is commonly used to quantify DNA or RNA in a sample. Using sequence-specific primers, the number of copies of a particular DNA or RNA sequence can be determined. By measuring the amount of amplified product at each stage during the PCR cycle, quantification is […]
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Molecular Microbiology, Techniques in Microbiology Lab
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is one of the most powerful technologies in molecular biology. Using PCR, specific sequences within a DNA or complementary DNA (cDNA) template can be copied, or “amplified”, many thousand- to a million-fold using sequence-specific oligonucleotides (or primers), heat-stable DNA polymerase, and thermal cycling. In traditional (endpoint) PCR, detection and quantification
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Biotechnology, Molecular Microbiology, Techniques in Microbiology Lab
Primers are short stretches of DNA that target unique sequences of a DNA molecule and help identify a unique part of a genome or a gene to be copied further. They are usually 18 to 25 nucleotides long. Primers can be synthesized and used for your PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and other molecular biology experiment
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Biotechnology, Microbe Lab, Molecular Microbiology, Techniques in Microbiology Lab
There are different types of steps involved in the transformation of a bacterial cell in gene cloning techniques. Bacterial cells are transformed when they are infused with exogenous DNA from another organism, and this makes them competent enough to express the gene product (or protein) of the gene they are carrying. Usually, the exogenous DNA
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Biotechnology, Molecular Microbiology
Cloning is a molecular biology technique which is used to make millions of copies of a particular gene of interest or a piece of DNA molecule. It generally involves taking a piece of DNA molecule (containing specific gene sequence of interest) from a donor organism where it naturally exists and putting same into a cloning
Mutagenesis is the careful alteration of the genetic information of an organism’s genome in such a way that it will result in a mutation. It is the creation of genetic change in the DNA of an organism and, which will result in the production of a population of cells with an entirely new genetic make-up.
Mutation is a change in the genetic make-up (or DNA) of an organism.It is an inheritable alteration in the nucleotide sequence (or genome base sequence) of a living organism. Mutation can occur in both plant and animal cells, and it can be spontaneous (i.e. natural), prompted (or artificial), or adaptive in nature. When mutation occurs,
Recombinant DNA technology and the use of synthetic DNA molecules make it possible for molecular biology scientists to induce specific mutations in specific genes. In vitro mutagenesis is used to purposefully change genetic information. The analysis of the subsequent changes in gene expression and gene products helps elucidate the functional effect of the mutation.
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Biotechnology, Molecular Microbiology
Mutagens are biological, physical or chemical agents that change the genetic materials (inclusive of DNA and RNA molecules) of an organism and thus increase the frequency of mutations above the natural background level. They are substances that change the genetic information of an organism, usually by changing DNA. Mutagens interact with nucleic acid molecules particularly
Plasmids are extrachromosomal DNA molecules found in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic microorganisms that have the ability to replicate independently. In prokaryotes, plasmids are found in both Gram positive bacteria and Gram negative bacteria; and they usually range from 1.5 kb to 300 kb in size. In terms of the strands of their DNA molecule, most
