Question

You have a circular plasmid that can be cut by the restriction nuclease HindIII, as diagrammed in Figure Q10-4. If you were to cut this circular piece of DNA with HindIII, which of the answers below best predicts what you would get?

(a) one linear piece of DNA
(b) two circular pieces of DNA
(c) two semicircular pieces of DNA
(d) two linear pieces of DNA

Answer 1

When a restriction enzyme-like HindIII cuts a circular plasmid at its recognition sites, it produces a) two linear pieces of DNA with sticky ends.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question involves understanding how restriction enzymes work on plasmid DNA. Restriction enzymes like HindIII recognize specific palindromic sequences in the DNA and make cuts leading to sticky ends. These ends are overhangs that can base pair with complementary sequences.

When HindIII cuts a circular plasmid, it typically cuts at recognition sites that are specifically defined. Since the information provided mentions that the action of HindIII results in two pieces of DNA with sticky ends, the cut produces two linear pieces of DNA because the plasmid was originally circular and makes a single cut to open up.