Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

Description

Application of Genetic Engineering and recombinant DNA is bringing about a revolution in our understanding of living organisms; and there is no field of experimental biology that is untouched by the power we have now to isolate, analyze and manipulate genes. The molecular structure of DNA, which explained how the molecule could replicate itself and how the same molecule could represent an almost infinite variety of different genes. From then the gene could be visualised as a structural entity and was no longer an invisible hereditary particle that could be identified only by its effects on the characteristics of an organism. The discovery of the molecular structure of DNA thus paved the way for the study of the gene itself and the direct analysis of DNA in the new era of molecular genetics. Restriction Enzymes or Molecular Scissors are used to cut DNA to be inserted into the vector. They used to cut DNA fragments with different ends. There are two types of restriction enzymes - Endonucleases and Exonucleases. Endonucleases cut the DNA in the middle whereas Exonucleases cut at the ends. Biotechnology draws on the pure biological sciences ad in many instances s also dependent on knowledge and methods from outside the sphere of biology. Conversely, modern biological sciences (including even concepts such as molecular ecology) are intimately entwined and dependent on the methods developed through biotechnology and what is commonly thought of as the life sciences industry. This book is an attempt to give the reader the basics of genetic engineering and its application to biotechnology.