Everything you need to know about microbial biotechnology. Some of the most frequently asked questions are as follows:-
Q.1. What are Bence – Jones proteins?
Ans: These are free monoclonal antibody light chains found in the urine of patients with multiple myeloma.
Q.2. Define stem cells.
Ans: These are immature or precursor cells from which mature cells arise, typically the cells of the bone marrow which are the progenitors of the T cells and B-cells of the immune systems.
Q.3. Give a chronological account of new therapeutic products of biotechnology in the form of enzymes and proteins.
Ans: Some of the novel therapeutic products of biotechnology are tabulated below in Table 20.1 in chronological order of development.
Table 20.1 A chronological account of production of new therapeutic products like therapeutic enzymes and other proteins from biotechnology (After Maulik and Patel, 1997)
Q.4. What is Southern blotting? Define.
Ans: It is a procedure for the identification of DNA by transmitting a fragment isolated on an agarose gel to a nitrocellulose filter where it can be hybridized with a complimentary ‘probe’ sequence. The technique was perfected by professor E.M. Southern in 1975.
Q.5. Define Northern blotting.
Ans: It is a technique to identify RNA molecules by hybridization which is analogous to Southern blotting.
Q.6. What is Western blotting?
Ans: It is a technique by which proteins are separated and immobilized on a paper sheet also called paper towels and then analyzed, generally by means of a labeled antibody.
Q.7. Have ‘eastern’ transfers been reported?
Ans: No, so far no one has come with ‘eastern’ transfers. So far this obscure term remains frolic and frisky.
Q.8. What is a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)?
Ans: A cloning vector which uses the origin of replication of F plasmid. It can take inserts of 100 – 300 kb and is believed to be less prone to cloning artefacts, such as chimeric inserts or rearrangements, upon propagation within the host.
Q.9. What is yeast artificial chromosome (YAC)?
Ans: A cloning vector using a yeast host cell, can accept very large inserts of DNA (~ 1 Mb).
Q.10. What is zoo blotting?
Ans: It is Southern blotting where human DNA is used to hybridise DNA from a range of other mammals.
Q.11. What is X-chromosome inactivation?
Ans: It is clonal inactivation of one of the X-chromosomes in females during development.