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Restriction Site
In molecular biology, restriction sites, or restriction recognition sites, are regions of a DNA molecule containing specific (4-8 base pairs in length) sequences of nucleotides; these are recognized by restriction enzymes, which cleave the DNA at or near the site. These are generally palindromic sequences (because restriction enzymes usually bind as homodimers), and a particular restriction enzyme may cut the sequence between two nucleotides within its recognition site, or somewhere nearby. Function For example, the common restriction enzyme EcoRI recognizes the palindromic sequence GAATTC and cuts between the G and the A on both the top and bottom strands. This leaves an overhang (an end-portion of a DNA strand with no attached complement) known as a sticky end on each end of AATT. The overhang can then be used to ligate in (see DNA ligase) a piece of DNA with a complementary overhang (another EcoRI-cut piece, for example). Some restriction enzymes cut DNA at a restriction sit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molecular Biology
Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. Though cells and other microscopic structures had been observed in living organisms as early as the 18th century, a detailed understanding of the mechanisms and interactions governing their behavior did not emerge until the 20th century, when technologies used in physics and chemistry had advanced sufficiently to permit their application in the biological sciences. The term 'molecular biology' was first used in 1945 by the English physicist William Astbury, who described it as an approach focused on discerning the underpinnings of biological phenomena—i.e. uncovering the physical and chemical structures and properties of biological molecules, as well as their interactions with other molecules and how these interactions explain observ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Base Pair
A base pair (bp) is a fundamental unit of double-stranded nucleic acids consisting of two nucleobases bound to each other by hydrogen bonds. They form the building blocks of the DNA double helix and contribute to the folded structure of both DNA and RNA. Dictated by specific hydrogen bonding patterns, "Watson–Crick" (or "Watson–Crick–Franklin") base pairs (guanine–cytosine and adenine–thymine) allow the DNA helix to maintain a regular helical structure that is subtly dependent on its nucleotide sequence. The Complementarity (molecular biology), complementary nature of this based-paired structure provides a Redundancy (information theory), redundant copy of the genetic information encoded within each strand of DNA. The regular structure and data redundancy provided by the DNA double helix make DNA well suited to the storage of genetic information, while base-pairing between DNA and incoming nucleotides provides the mechanism through which DNA polymerase replicates DNA and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nucleotide
Nucleotides are Organic compound, organic molecules composed of a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar and a phosphate. They serve as monomeric units of the nucleic acid polymers – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which are essential biomolecules within all Life, life-forms on Earth. Nucleotides are obtained in the diet and are also synthesized from common Nutrient, nutrients by the liver. Nucleotides are composed of three subunit molecules: a nucleobase, a pentose, five-carbon sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), and a phosphate group consisting of one to three phosphates. The four nucleobases in DNA are guanine, adenine, cytosine, and thymine; in RNA, uracil is used in place of thymine. Nucleotides also play a central role in metabolism at a fundamental, cellular level. They provide chemical energy—in the form of the nucleoside triphosphates, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), guanosine triphosphate (GTP), cytidine triphosphate (CTP), and uridine triph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Restriction Enzyme
A restriction enzyme, restriction endonuclease, REase, ENase or'' restrictase '' is an enzyme that cleaves DNA into fragments at or near specific recognition sites within molecules known as restriction sites. Restriction enzymes are one class of the broader endonuclease group of enzymes. Restriction enzymes are commonly classified into five types, which differ in their structure and whether they cut their DNA enzyme substrate (biology), substrate at their recognition site, or if the recognition and cleavage sites are separate from one another. To cut DNA, all restriction enzymes make two incisions, once through each backbone chain, sugar-phosphate backbone (i.e. each strand) of the DNA double helix. These enzymes are found in bacteria and archaea and provide a defense mechanism against invading viruses. Inside a prokaryote, the restriction enzymes selectively cut up ''foreign'' DNA in a process called ''restriction digestion''; meanwhile, host DNA is protected by a modification ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palindromic Sequence
A palindromic sequence is a nucleic acid sequence in a double-stranded DNA or RNA molecule whereby reading in a certain direction (e.g. 5' to 3') on one strand is identical to the sequence in the same direction (e.g. 5' to 3') on the complementary strand. This definition of palindrome thus depends on complementary strands being palindromic of each other. The meaning of palindrome in the context of genetics is slightly different from the definition used for words and sentences. Since a double helix is formed by two paired antiparallel strands of nucleotides that run in opposite directions, and the nucleotides always pair in the same way (adenine (A) with thymine (T) in DNA or uracil (U) in RNA; cytosine (C) with guanine (G)), a (single-stranded) nucleotide sequence is said to be a palindrome if it is equal to its reverse complement. For example, the DNA sequence ACCTAGGT is palindromic with its nucleotide-by-nucleotide complement TGGATCCA because reversing the order of the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homodimer
In biochemistry, a protein dimer is a macromolecular complex or protein multimer, multimer formed by two protein monomers, or single proteins, which are usually Non-covalent interaction, non-covalently bound. Many macromolecules, such as proteins or nucleic acids, form dimers. The word ''dimer'' has roots meaning "two parts", ''wikt:di-#Prefix, di-'' + ''wikt:-mer#Suffix, -mer''. A protein dimer is a type of protein quaternary structure. A protein homodimer is formed by two identical proteins while a protein heterodimer is formed by two different proteins. Most protein dimers in biochemistry are not connected by covalent bonds. An example of a non-covalent heterodimer is the enzyme reverse transcriptase, which is composed of two different amino acid chains. An exception is dimers that are linked by disulfide bridges such as the homodimeric protein IKBKG, NEMO. Some proteins contain specialized domains to ensure dimerization (dimerization domains) and specificity. The G protein- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EcoRI
EcoRI (pronounced "eco R one") is a restriction endonuclease enzyme isolated from species '' E. coli.'' It is a restriction enzyme that cleaves DNA double helices into fragments at specific sites, and is also a part of the restriction modification system. The ''Eco'' part of the enzyme's name originates from the species from which it was isolated"E" denotes generic name, "Escherichia", and "co" denotes species name, "coli"while the R represents the particular strain, in this case RY13, and the I denotes that it was the first enzyme isolated from this strain. In molecular biology it is used as a restriction enzyme. EcoRI creates 4 nucleotide sticky ends with 5' end overhangs of AATT. The nucleic acid recognition sequence where the enzyme cuts is G↓AATTC, which has a palindromic complementary sequence of CTTAA↓G. Other restriction enzymes, depending on their cut sites, can also leave 3' overhangs or blunt ends with no overhangs. History EcoRI is an example of type II restrict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DNA Ligase
DNA ligase is a type of enzyme that facilitates the joining of DNA strands together by catalyzing the formation of a phosphodiester bond. It plays a role in repairing single-strand breaks in duplex DNA in living organisms, but some forms (such as DNA ligase IV) may specifically repair double-strand breaks (i.e. a break in both complementary strands of DNA). Single-strand breaks are repaired by DNA ligase using the complementary strand of the double helix as a template, with DNA ligase creating the final phosphodiester bond to fully repair the DNA. DNA ligase is used in both DNA repair and DNA replication (see '' Mammalian ligases''). In addition, DNA ligase has extensive use in molecular biology laboratories for recombinant DNA experiments (see '' Research applications''). Purified DNA ligase is used in gene cloning to join DNA molecules together to form recombinant DNA. Enzymatic mechanism The mechanism of DNA ligase is to form two covalent phosphodiester bonds between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RFLP
In molecular biology, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) is a technique that exploits variations in homologous DNA sequences, known as polymorphisms, populations, or species or to pinpoint the locations of genes within a sequence. The term may refer to a polymorphism itself, as detected through the differing locations of restriction enzyme sites, or to a related laboratory technique by which such differences can be illustrated. In RFLP analysis, a DNA sample is digested into fragments by one or more restriction enzymes, and the resulting ''restriction fragments'' are then separated by gel electrophoresis according to their size. RFLP analysis is now largely obsolete due to the emergence of inexpensive DNA sequencing technologies, but it was the first DNA profiling technique inexpensive enough to see widespread application. RFLP analysis was an important early tool in genome mapping, localization of genes for genetic disorders, determination of risk for disease, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plasmid
A plasmid is a small, extrachromosomal DNA molecule within a cell that is physically separated from chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently. They are most commonly found as small circular, double-stranded DNA molecules in bacteria and archaea; however plasmids are sometimes present in and eukaryotic organisms as well. Plasmids often carry useful genes, such as those involved in antibiotic resistance, virulence, secondary metabolism and bioremediation. While chromosomes are large and contain all the essential genetic information for living under normal conditions, plasmids are usually very small and contain additional genes for special circumstances. Artificial plasmids are widely used as vectors in molecular cloning, serving to drive the replication of recombinant DNA sequences within host organisms. In the laboratory, plasmids may be introduced into a cell via transformation. Synthetic plasmids are available for procurement over the internet by various vendors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nullomers
Nullomers are short sequences of DNA that do not occur in the genome of a species (for example, humans), even though they are theoretically possible. * Nullomers must be under selective pressure - for example, they may be toxic to the cell. Some nullomers have been shown to be useful to treat leukemia, breast, and prostate cancer. They are not useful in healthy cells because normal cells adapt and become immune to them. Nullomers are also being developed for use as DNA tags to prevent cross contamination when analyzing crime scene material. * Background Nullomers are naturally occurring but potentially unused sequences of DNA. Determining these "forbidden" sequences can improve the understanding of the basic rules that govern sequence evolution. Sequencing entire genomes has shown that there is a high level of non-uniformity in genomic sequences. When a codon is artificially substituted with a synonymous codon, it often results in a lethal change and cell death. This is believe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Restriction Enzyme Cutting Sites
A restriction enzyme or restriction endonuclease is a special type of biological macromolecule that functions as part of the "immune system" in bacteria. One special kind of restriction enzymes is the class of " homing endonucleases", these being present in all three domains of life, although their function seems to be very different from one domain to another. The classical restriction enzymes cut up, and hence render harmless, any unknown (non- cellular) DNA that enters a bacterial cell as a result of a viral infection. They recognize a specific DNA sequence, usually short (3 to 8 bp), and cut it, producing either blunt or overhung ends, either at or nearby the recognition site. Restriction enzymes are quite variable in the short DNA sequences they recognize. An organism often has several different enzymes, each specific to a distinct short DNA sequence. __TOC__ Restriction enzymes catalog The list includes some of the most studied examples of restriction endoncleases. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
