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Some Key Enzymes Used in Cloning

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Molecular Life Sciences

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Synopsis

A large number of different enzymes are used in DNA cloning procedures. DNA ligase is used to join two DNA molecules covalently, the key step in constructing a recombinant plasmid from a cloning vector and a DNA insert. The ends of DNA molecules can be modified to allow or prevent ligation by using the enzymes polynucleotide kinase or alkaline phosphatase. Enzymes that catalyze DNA synthesis, including DNA polymerases, reverse transcriptase, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, find application in many ways in cloning procedures, including to modify DNA ends to control ligation, in the polymerase chain reaction, in DNA sequencing, to produce DNA copies of RNA molecules, and other applications. A variety of nucleases are available that can be used to remove unwanted DNA, to modify DNA ends, and to delete larger portions of a DNA molecule.

Introduction

The isolation, modification, and joining of specific DNA fragments to produce recombinant products are essential steps in...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Douglas Julin

Authors
  1. Douglas Julin
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Correspondence to Douglas Julin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Robert D. Wells

  2. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA

    Judith S. Bond

  3. Department of Chemistry Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California The california institute for Quanti, Berkeley, California, USA

    Judith Klinman

  4. Department of Biochemistry, The University of Texas Health Science C, San Antonio, Texas, USA

    Bettie Sue Siler Masters

  5. Dept of Chemistry, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA

    Ellis Bell

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Julin, D. (2014). Some Key Enzymes Used in Cloning. In: Wells, R., Bond, J., Klinman, J., Masters, B., Bell, E. (eds) Molecular Life Sciences. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6436-5_89-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6436-5_89-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6436-5

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