Science Archives

Biomolecules Science

July 27, 2021

Classification and Biological Functions of Lipids

Introduction Lipids are one of the major macromolecules present in our body, and others include nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and proteins. But unlike the other macro biomolecules, lipids are not polymers - they aren’t composed of monomers. They are hydrophobic in nature because of the predominance of hydrocarbon chains (–CH2–CH2–CH2–CH2–) in…

Anjali Singh

Enzymology Science

July 19, 2021

Factors That Affects Enzyme Activity

Enzymes are a group of proteins that catalyze non-spontaneous chemical reactions in any biological system. In an organism, enzymes function as a group of interconnected chemical reactions in a metabolic pathway, fulfilling a specific cellular task. Metabolic pathways are active under normal circumstances and alter their activities in response to…

Arpaporn Sutipatanasomboon

Biomolecules Science

June 28, 2021

Types of Nucleic Acids and Their Biological Significance

Introduction and History Nucleic acids are an essential class of macromolecules present in all cells of organisms including viruses. They were first discovered by Friedrich Mischer in 1869. He wanted to study the composition of leukocytes from the pus cells of discarded surgical bandages. During his study, he observed nucleic…

Anjali Singh

Enzymology Science

June 15, 2021

Allosteric Enzymes: Characteristics, Models, and Examples

Introduction: Allosteric enzymes are a group of biocatalysts that possess common characteristics of an enzyme but do not exhibit a typical Michaelis-Menten kinetic behavior. Instead, their kinetics follow a sigmoid curve. The key to allosteric enzyme activity lies in the reversible binding to a specific molecule on a non-catalytic site…

Arpaporn Sutipatanasomboon

Molecular Genetics Science

June 14, 2021

Bacteriophage λ DNA Purification from Liquid Cultures

In the past, bacteriophage λ DNA purification was largely achieved through procedures that involved Cesium chloride gradients. However, these methods had a low recovery rate and a high chance of the presence of contaminants. Modern bacteriophage λ DNA purification methods give high yield and provide DNA free from contamination (Pickard,…

Melissa Martinez

Molecular Genetics Science

June 14, 2021

Bacteriophage λ DNA Purification from Plate Lysates

Genomic DNA or cDNA clones are analyzed in a simple procedure that begins with the restriction digestion of phage DNA mini preparations. The digested DNA is then assessed by agarose gel electrophoresis. For the rapid analysis, one can purify bacteriophage DNA from plate lysates as well as liquid cultures. This…

Melissa Martinez

Molecular Genetics Science

June 14, 2021

Cloning into Bacteriophage M13 Vectors

Insertion of foreign DNA into M13 cloning vectors is a bit tricky and includes the following steps: Ligating double-stranded DNA segments with cohesive termini into compatible sites in M13 double-stranded RF DNA. Transforming ligation products into competent male E. coli cells (plated in top agar supplemented with X-gal and IPTG. …

Melissa Martinez

Molecular Genetics Science

June 14, 2021

Generation of Single-Stranded DNA with Phagemid Vectors

The vectors derived from filamentous phages containing a plasmid's origin of replication are called phagemids (Qi et al., 2012). Phagemids comprise typical high-copy-number plasmids equipped with a major intergenic region (508bp in length) of a filamentous phage. This region does not encode any proteins; however, it comprises all the cis-acting…

Melissa Martinez

Molecular Genetics Science

June 14, 2021

Hybridization based Screening of Bacteriophage DNA on the filters

Filters carrying immobilized bacteriophage DNA are labeled with 32P-labelled probes to screen by hybridization in situ. In this procedure, the filters are first submerged in a prehybridization solution (containing blocking solution) to reduce non-specific probe absorption. The filters are then incubated with a denatured radioactive probe for hybridization. Wash the…

Melissa Martinez

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