Virtual Lab 2: Recombinant DNA technology - Introduction
Recombinant DNA technology is to produce DNA by artificial means and to change the DNA of an organism. This involves taking DNA from two sources and combining them into a single molecule (recombinant DNA). The artificially made DNA is then reproduced by a process called cloning 克隆.
Herbert Boyer (1936-) discovered the first DNA endonuclease 核酸内切酶 in 1966 which cuts DNA with specific sequences. On the other hand, Stanley Cohen (1935-) discovered a small bacterial plasmid 質粒 which can be cut once by DNA endonuclease. Through collaboration, they invented the technique of cutting any piece of DNA by enzyme and joining the DNA fragment with a cleaved 裂開的 plasmid using another enzyme called DNA ligase 連接酶. After inserting the recombinant plasmid into a bacterial cell, the recombined DNA molecule (Recombinant DNA) can be reproduced. They won the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine in 2004.
Go to the virtual lab to try the procedure of recombinant DNA technology on production of recombinant DNA vaccine.