Download a10c Biotechnology

DNA and Biotechnology
1. What are some applications of biotechnology in the fields of medicine, food production,
agriculture, criminal investigation, and genetic research?
2. What is a restriction enzyme, and what does it catalyze? How do restriction enzymes differ
in what they cleave? What do they "look for"? Name an example of a restriction enzyme.
3. Describe the steps of cloning (transferring a gene to bacteria for purposes of "growing" DNA
or protein). What enzymes are used in the process? What form of bacterial gene transfer is
used in the lab to facilitate gene insertion?
4. What is a plasmid, and how is it used in cloning?
5. What is DNA fingerprinting? What molecular and laboratory tools are used to produce a
"fingerprint"? What is the basis of concluding that different individual organisms should
have different fingerprints? Is this always true?
6. What is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)? How has this process become important in
forensics (criminal investigation) and DNA research? What are the unique features of the
polymerase enzyme used in this process?
7. How do you interpret the results of electrophoresis? What kinds of DNA migrate the
farthest? What kinds of DNA migrate least far in a gel?
8. What is gene therapy and what does it promise to do?
9. What is the Human Genome Project and what are its goals?