This article provides an overview on the principles of gene transfer. Classical gene therapies normally require efficient transfer of cloned genes into disease cells so that the introduced genes are expressed at suitably high levels. In principle, there are numerous different physicochemical and biological methods that can be used to transfer exogenous genes into human cells. The size of DNA [...]
In prokaryotes several mechanisms viz., transformation, conjugation and transduction have been described that mediate the formation of new recombinants. Transformation refers to transfer of relatively small segment of naked DNA from a donor cell (male) to the recipient (female) cell. Conjugation is the process of gene transfer between cells of opposite mating types that are in physical contact with each [...]
In this article we will discuss about the vectors of gene transfer. The common features of vectors used for transformation of eukaryotic cells include: (i) Multiple cloning sites (unique restriction site), (ii) Bacterial origin of replication, and (iii) Selectable marker gene which will allow to select the proper transformed cell. Ti and Ri Plasmid: The potential use of the Agrobacterium [...]