A molecular biologist wants to isolate a gene from a scorpion that encodes the deadly toxin found in its stinger, with the ultimate purpose of transferring this gene to bacteria and producing the toxin for use as a commercial pesticide. Isolating the gene requires a DNA library. Should the molecular biologist create a genomic library or a cDNA library? Explain your reasoning.

A molecular biologist wants to isolate a gene from a scorpion that encodes the deadly toxin found in its stinger, with the ultimate purpose of transferring this gene to bacteria and producing the toxin for use as a commercial pesticide. Isolating the gene requires a DNA library. Should the molecular biologist create a genomic library or a cDNA library? Explain your reasoning.

Human Heredity: Principles and Issues (MindTap Course List)

11th Edition

ISBN:9781305251052

Author:Michael Cummings

Publisher:Michael Cummings

Chapter13: An Introduction To Genetic Technology

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 8QP

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Similar questions

A researcher sequences the genome of a variety of bacterial and eukaryotic cells. She finds that the bacterial genome is smaller, but that there are more genes for a given number of base pairs in the eukaryotic cells. In other words, there are fewer genes per unit of length of DNA in the eukaryotic cells. What do you predict she will find if she examines the DNA more closely? A. All of the bacterial DNA consists of coding sequences, but this is not true of the eukaryotic DNA. B. There are more repetitive sequences in the eukaryotic DNA than in the bacterial DNA. C. There are densely packed genes in the eukaryotic DNA that were not immediately distinguishable during the first analysis. D. The bacteria have larger quantities of noncoding DNA than the eukaryotic cells.
What advantages do cDNA libraries provide over genomic DNA libraries? Describe cloning applications where the use of a genomic library is necessary to provide information that a cDNA library cannot.
In next-generation sequencing, which of these advances allows for massively parallel sequencing? a. Pieces of DNA are fixed to a surface, so we can tell which new nucleotides were added to each piece. b. DNA sequences are read in real-time as nucleotides are added to each piece. c. Each segment of the genome can be pieced back together through shotgun alignment d. Single molecules of DNA can be read without the need for amplification.
DNA sequencing technology has been around since the late 1970s. Why didsequencing whole genomes present a challenge?
What is the main reason for using a cDNA library rather than a genomic library to isolate a human gene from which you wish to make large quantities of the human protein in bacteria? How will you identify clones of interest?
Annotation involves identifying genes and gene-regulatory sequences in a genome. List and describe characteristics of a genome that are hallmarks for identifying genes in an unknown sequence. What characteristics would you look for in a bacterial genome? A eukaryotic genome?
You have isolated a transposable element from the human genome and have determined its DNA sequence.How would you use this sequence to determine thecopy number of the element in the human genome ifyou just had a computer with an Internet connection?
(a) Why can there be multiple codons for an amino acid? Why would this have evolved? (b) What is the advantage of Illumina Next Generation Sequencing?
If only part of the genome contains genes, why sequence the whole thing?
What is a database? What types of information are stored within adatabase? Where does the information come from? Discuss theobjectives of a genome database.
The words “transcribe” and “translate” are more commonly associated with language and dialogue. For example, a court reporter may transcribe what was said during a trial, or a popular book may be translated from Spanish into English. Why are “transcription” and “translation” such good descriptors for these processes in molecular biology?
Some synthetic biologists have proposed creating an entirely new, freeliving organism with a minimal genome, the smallest set of genes that allows for replication of the organism in a particular environment. This genome could be used to design and create, from “scratch,” novel organisms that might perform specific tasks, such as the breakdown of toxic materials in the environment. Q. How might the minimal genome required for life be determined?