In this article we will discuss about the applications of PCR. i. Detection of mutations: PCR is useful for detection of mutations related to genetic disease including point mutations, insertions and deletions. A notable example is that of the human dystrophin gene associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The large-sized dystrophin gene consists of about two million base pairs located on [...]
Cloned genes can be introduced into knockout mice by means of embryonal stem cells (ES cells). Embryonal cells have attracted tremendous attention in recent years, hence a brief introduction on ES cells is warranted. The concept of ES cells arose through studies on mouse and human teratocarcinomas. These tumours were found to contain cells, called embryonal carcinoma cells, the stem [...]
In this article we will discuss about the determination of DNA sequence. The sequence of bases A, T, G, and C in genes and whole genome can provide useful information for understanding gene structure and organisation, encoded protein and cell behaviour. The first complete nucleotide sequence of an entire viral genome (φX174) was determined in 1977 in the laboratory of [...]