Question

How are restriction enzymes and ligase used in biotechnology?

a. restriction enzymes cut DNA at specific locations, producing ends that can be ligated back together with ligase
b. only restriction enzymes that produce blunt ends after cutting DNA can be ligated with ligase
c. only restriction enzymes that produce sticky ends on the DNA can be ligated with ligase
d. restriction enzymes can both cut DNA at specific sites and ligate them back together
e. restriction enzymes randomly cut DNA, and the cut fragments can be ligated back together with ligase

Answer 1

A. Restriction enzymes cut DNA at specific locations, producing ends that can be ligated back together with ligase.

Step-by-step explanation:

Restriction enzymes are one of the endonucleases that cut the DNA at specific base sequences. The base sequences recognized and cut by the restriction enzymes are known as restriction sites.

Restriction enzymes are used in recombinant DNA technology to cut the DNA at specific sites. Restriction enzymes can produce DNA fragments with sticky ends or blunt ends. These DNA fragments are joined together by DNA ligase enzyme.

For example, the donor DNA and the vector DNA are cut at specific sites using a particular restriction enzyme. The resultant DNA fragments have complementary ends that are ligated together by the action of a DNA ligase enzyme. The result is the insertion of a gene of interest into the vector DNA.