Question

The human genome is 3×10⁹ bp in length. Calculate how many fragments would result from the complete digestion of the human genome with specific enzymes?

1) 5.81×10⁵
2) 8.69×10⁵
3) 1.97×10⁴
4) 7.32×10⁵
5) 1.15×10⁷

Answer 1

The number of fragments from complete digestion of the human genome cannot be determined without specifics on the enzymes used. The genome has approximately 700,000 pieces when cleaved by certain restriction endonucleases for genomic library construction. The Human Genome Project has provided invaluable data, revealing humans have 20,000 to 22,000 genes.

Step-by-step explanation:

The human genome is approximately 3 billion base pairs in length. To calculate the number of fragments resulting from complete digestion with specific enzymes, more information is needed, such as the average length of fragments produced by the enzyme. Commonly, restriction enzymes are used to cleave DNA at specific sequences, resulting in fragments of various sizes. In reality, the human genome has been reported to be cleaved into approximately 700,000 pieces by certain restriction endonucleases for the purposes of creating genomic libraries.

This process is crucial in the study of genetics and for work in biotechnology, such as gene cloning and DNA recombinant technology. However, without specific details on the enzyme and its cleavage pattern, we cannot accurately provide the number of fragments produced. Note that the human genome has also been sequenced through the Human Genome Project, a monumental scientific effort that revealed much about human genes and DNA sequences.