Question

A molecular biologist wants to insert a piece of human DNA into a plasmid. She first cut the human DNA with a restriction enzyme.

a) What characteristic of the restriction enzyme is needed to make sure that the human DNA would be able to join the cut DNA of the plasmids?

b) What other restriction enzyme must the scientist have added to the mixture to complete this process?

Answer 1

a) Characteristics of restriction enzymes that is needed to make sure that the human DNA would be able to join the cut DNA of the plasmid are;

Firstly it is necessary to digest the human DNA and the plasmid DNA with the same restriction enzyme.

Secondly,  restriction enzymes do not cut randomly; rather, they cut at specific DNA target sequences, which is one of the key features that make them suitable for DNA manipulation.

Therefore it produces the same sticky ends or blunt ends, which can be made to stick together by complementary base pairing.

b) Other enzyme that must be added to this mixture to complete this process are:

DNA ligase is a DNA-joining enzyme. If two pieces of DNA have matching ends, ligase can link them to form a single, unbroken molecule of DNA.

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