Biotechnology Principles and Processes Test - 1

Shotgun cloning (also known as the shotgun method) is a method to duplicate genomic DNA. The DNA to be cloned is cut using a restriction enzyme or by randomly using a physical method to smash the DNA into small pieces. These fragments are then taken together and cloned into a vector.

OCT, XYL and CAM are plasmids seen in Pseudomonas putida as anti-pollutants.
The plasmids are grouped into four categories:
(1) OCT plasmid, which degrades octane, hexane and decane
(2) XYL plasmid, which degrades xylene and toluenes
(3) CAM plasmid, which decompose camphor
(4) NAH plasmid, which degrades naphthalene

The "yeast two-hybrid system" uses transcriptional reporters in yeast to indirectly reflect the interaction between two proteins. The term "two-hybrid" derives from the two classes of chimeric, or "hybrid," proteins used in each screen.

When a piece of RNA that is complementary in sequence is used to stop expression of a specific gene, it is called antisense technology.

A radioisotope used to label proteins differently from nucleic acids is S-35.
Sulphur-35 is used to label proteins and nucleic acids. Cysteine is an amino acid containing a thiol group, which can be labelled by S-35. For nucleotides that do not contain a sulphur group, the oxygen on one of the phosphate groups can be substituted with a sulphur.

A transgene is a gene or genetic material that has been transferred naturally, or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques from one organism to another. The introduction of a transgene (called "transgenesis") has the potential to change the phenotype of an organism.
In addition, a transgene can
1. prevent the expression of a native gene;
2. modify an existing biosynthetic pathway;
3. produce a protein that itself produces a phenotype of interest.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based markers have been developed to differentiate different biotypes of gall midge.

Hypervariables are useful in cloning. A hypervariable region (HVR) is a location within nuclear DNA or the D-loop of mitochondrial DNA in which base pairs of nucleotides repeat (in the case of nuclear DNA) or have substitutions (in the case of mitochondrial DNA).

M. S. Swaminathan studied cytogenetics and radiation genetics in plants.
Alec Jefferey introduced DNA finger-printing technology.
Eli Lily synthesised humulin.
Mertz and Devis studied the function of DNA ligase.

Callus is a mass of undifferentiated cells. In biological research and biotechnology, callus formation is induced from plant tissue samples (explants) after surface sterilization and plating onto tissue culture medium in vitro. The culture medium is supplemented with plant growth regulators, such as auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellins, to initiate callus formation or somatic embryogenesis.