Chapter 15

Enzymes that cut, paste and multiply DNA

- In biology, a palindrome is that the two strands of DNA are read the same, if you
read them in a five prime to three prime direction on both strands. The strands of
DNA run antiparallel to each other.
- Restriction endonucleases cut at a six base prime end.
- Some restriction enzymes cut right through the middle of that palindrome.
- Restriction endonucleases are enzymes that cut DNA at a specific restriction site.
Restriction endonucleases
- When viral bacteria comes in, their restriction enzymes chop it into pieces and they
will always chop up at restriction pieces.
- Methylated group added to either the cytosine or the adenine, somewhere in that
recognition site, prevents the restriction enzyme from cutting the bacteria’s own
DNA at that recognition site. If any foreign DNA gets in the recognition site, it will cut
up its own DNA.

Gel electrophoresis
- The bands in the gel represent where the DNA has been sorted out.