Question

Phage λ can carry larger dna fragments than plasmids. T/F

Answer 1

Phage λ can carry larger DNA fragments than plasmids due to the bigger size of the phage genome and its ability to remove unnecessary DNA. This allows for the insertion of larger foreign DNA fragments.

Step-by-step explanation:

Phage λ can carry larger DNA fragments than plasmids. This is because the phage genome is bigger and can be engineered to remove unnecessary DNA, allowing for the insertion of foreign DNA fragments up to 20 kilobase pairs (kbp). Plasmids, on the other hand, typically have smaller insert sizes compared to phage vectors. Therefore, the statement is true.

Answer 2

True, phage lambda can carry larger DNA fragments than plasmids, with its ability to incorporate DNA inserts as large as 18-20 kbp, nearly 20 times the size of typical plasmid inserts.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that phage λ can carry larger DNA fragments than plasmids is true. Phage genomes are typically larger than plasmids and can be engineered to remove unnecessary DNA for infection and replication in bacterial host cells. The removed DNA can be replaced by foreign insert DNA fragments up to 18-20 kilobase pairs (kbp), which is nearly 20 times as long as typical cDNA inserts in plasmids.

Moreover, the ability to package these larger inserts into purified phage coat proteins to create infectious phage particles means that phage vectors are a reliable method for cloning large fragments of DNA when constructing a genomic library, as fewer clones are needed to represent the entire genome of the original organism. Bacteriophage lambda (phage λ) can accept approx. 50 kb of DNA, compared to plasmids which generally accommodate less than 15 kb.