What is performed to identify disease-causing genes?
respiration shock
skull size
cutaneous respiration
genetic testing
CHAPTER SUMMARY 17.1 Biotechnology Nucleic acids can be isolated from cells for the purposes of further analysis by breaking open the cells and enzymatically destroying all other major macromolecules. Fragmented or whole chromosomes can be separated on the basis of size by gel electrophoresis. Short stretches of DNA or RNA can be amplified by PCR. Southern and northern blotting can be used to detect the presence of specific short sequences in a DNA or RNA sample. The term “cloning” may refer to cloning small DNA fragments (molecular cloning), cloning cell populations (cellular cloning), or cloning entire organisms (reproductive cloning). Genetic testing is performed to identify disease-causing genes, and gene therapy is used to cure an inheritable disease. Transgenic organisms possess DNA from a different species, usually generated by molecular cloning techniques. Vaccines, antibiotics, and hormones are examples of products obtained by recombinant DNA technology. Transgenic plants are usually created to improve characteristics of crop plants.