Laboratory Techniques in Biotechnology: Methods and Applications  (Hardcover, Cordelia Petra)

The DNA used as a carrier for transferring a fragment of foreign DNA into a suitable host is called vehicle DNA or cloning vector or gene carrier (e.g., plasmids, bacterial phage DNA, cosmic an artificial plasmid, phagemid/phasmid, artificial chromosome vectors). DNA has two complementary strands linked by hydrogen bonds between the paired bases. The two strands can be separated by exposure to high temperatures (DNA denaturation) and can be reannealed by cooling. The DNA can be replicated by the DNA polymerase enzyme. To understand the basic techniques used to work with nucleic acids, one must remember that nucleic acids are macromolecules made of nucleotides (a sugar, a phosphate, and a nitrogenous base) linked by phosphodiester bonds. The phosphate groups on these molecules each have a net negative charge. An entire set of DNA molecules in the nucleus is called the genome. Stem cell technology is a rapidly developing field that combines the efforts of cell biologists, geneticists, and clinicians and offers hope of effective treatment for a variety of malignant and non-malignant diseases. This book provide adequate background and current information on recent biotechnological tools and techniques and its application. It will be very useful for a variety of scholars, biotechnologists, medical doctors, researchers, teachers and students in the field of biotechnology.