Final answer:
The statement is true; bacterial cells can be used to replicate DNA fragments and create proteins of interest through recombinant DNA technology, which takes advantage of the central dogma of molecular biology to produce proteins across different organisms.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that fragments replicated in bacteria can be used to create the protein of interest is true. This process is known as recombinant DNA technology or genetic engineering, where scientists can insert DNA fragments into bacteria, such as through a plasmid, to produce the desired proteins. This is possible because the central dogma of molecular biology describes that DNA is transcribed to RNA, which is then translated into proteins, a process that is fundamentally similar across organisms.
To amplify or express a gene of interest, the gene is inserted into a vector, such as a plasmid, which is a small, circular piece of DNA that can independently replicate within bacterial cells. The recombinant plasmid is then introduced into bacteria through a process called transformation. Once inside the bacteria, the plasmid and the inserted gene replicate along with the bacterial DNA, and the bacteria's cellular machinery is used to transcribe and translate the gene into the protein it encodes.
Taq polymerase, an enzyme originally identified from heat-loving bacteria, is utilized in Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) because of its ability to withstand the high temperatures needed for DNA denaturation during the PCR cycles. Multiple polymerases can transcribe a single bacterial gene while numerous ribosomes concurrently translate the mRNA transcripts into polypeptides, enabling a rapid production of the specific protein within the bacterial cell.