DNA and Genetics

RAPD stands for Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA, which is a PCR-based technique used in molecular biology and genetics to detect polymorphisms and genetic variations. It uses short arbitrary primers to amplify random DNA segments, creating unique fingerprint patterns that can distinguish between different organisms or strains.

RFLP is a molecular biology technique where DNA is cut by restriction enzymes at specific recognition sites, producing fragments of varying lengths. The 'R' stands for Restriction, 'F' for Fragment, 'L' for Length, and 'P' for Polymorphism. This technique is used for DNA fingerprinting and genetic analysis.

Enzymes are biological catalysts - proteins that speed up chemical reactions in living organisms without being consumed themselves. They work by lowering the activation energy needed for reactions to occur. DNA carries genetic information, lipids are fats, and polysaccharides are carbohydrates - none of these are catalysts.

Transposons are mobile genetic elements that can move and replicate within the genome. They're called 'jumping genes' because they can change positions, potentially causing mutations or regulating gene expression. Alu sequences and P elements are specific types of transposons, but the general term for all jumping genes is transposons.

Blue Martini (now part of SAP) used DNA (Data Network Architecture) as its primary data structure for passing information in and out of the system. This was a proprietary format optimized for e-commerce applications.

The business action dictionary (bizact.dna) in Blue Martini is stored as a serialized DNA list, not deserialized. Deserialization would occur when reading it into memory for use, but the stored form is serialized.

A Project Completion Report (PCR) is a formal document that signals the official closure of a project. Consequently, it is signed off at the End of the Project to confirm all deliverables are met. Signing it at the beginning or during development/testing stages would be premature and incorrect.

A given restriction enzyme cuts DNA segments within a specific nucleotide sequence at restriction site. These recognition sequences are typically four, six, eight, ten, or twelve nucleotides long. Because there are only so many ways to arrange the four nucleotides which compose DNA (Adenine, Thymine, Guanine and Cytosine) into a four-to-twelve nucleotide sequence, recognition sequences tend to occur by chance in any long sequence. Five fragments will be generated if we digest a linear DNA molecule with a restriction enzyme having four recognition sites on the DNA.

Insertional inactivation is a technique of recombinant DNA technology used to select bacteria that carry recombinant plasmids, a fragment of foreign DNA is inserted into a restriction site within a gene for antibiotic resistance, thus causing that gene to become non functional, and hence there is an inactivation of the enzyme.

A gene gun or a biolistic particle delivery system which was actually designed for plant transformation is a device for injecting cells with genetic information. The payload is an elemental particle of a heavy metal coated with plasmid DNA. Microparticles coated with DNA to be bombarded with gene gun are made up of gold or tungsten.

When a person obtains transformants by inserting a recombinant DNA within the coding sequence of â-galactosidase, the recombinant colonies do not produce any colour, whereas non-recombinants form blue coloured colonies. This observation helps in separating out the recombinants from the non-recombinant ones.

Eukaryotic genes do not function properly when cloned into bacterial cell, because of the inability of the bacterial genes to excise introns. Eukaryotic enzymes are often responsible for the destruction of the bacterial restriction enzymes as well.

On centrifugation, macromolecules present in the CsCl solution will form bands at distinct point in the gradient. Position of band formation depends on the buoyant density. DNA has a buoyant density of about 1.7 g/ cm3, whereas protein molecules have a much lower buoyant densities and so float at the top of the tube whereas RNA forms a pellet at the bottom. 

A plasmid refers to a small DNA molecule that is physically separate from, as well as can replicate independently of, chromosomal DNA within a cell. Plasmids are most frequently found as small circular, double-stranded DNA molecules in bacteria. They are sometimes present in archaea and eukaryotic organisms.

A repressor is a DNA-binding protein that regulates the expression of one or more genes by binding to the operator & blocking the attachment of RNA polymerase to the promoter, thus inhibiting transcription of the genes.