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Restriction Enzymes and Their Role in Microbiology

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Analyzing Microbes

Abstract

The ability to cleave DNA at specific sites is one of the cornerstones of today’s methods of DNA manipulation. Restriction endonucleases are intended to cleave duplex DNA at specific target sequences with the production of defined fragments. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) are differences in genomic DNA sequences between individuals that are revealed by cleaving each individual’s DNA with restriction enzymes, separating the DNA fragments according to size. Each enzyme cuts the palindrome at a particular site, and two different enzymes may have the same recognition sequence, but cleave the DNA at different points within that sequence. The cleavage sites fall into three different categories, either flush (or blunt) in which the recognition site is cut in the middle, or with either 5′- or 3′-overhangs, in which case unpaired bases will be produced on both ends of the fragment.

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Mesapogu, S., Jillepalli, C.M., Arora, D.K. (2013). Restriction Enzymes and Their Role in Microbiology. In: Arora, D., Das, S., Sukumar, M. (eds) Analyzing Microbes. Springer Protocols Handbooks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-34410-7_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-34410-7_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-34409-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-34410-7

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