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Ch. 9 - Biotechnology & DNA Technology
Tortora - Microbiology: An Introduction 14th Edition
Tortora14th EditionMicrobiology: An IntroductionISBN: 9780138200398Not the one you use?Change textbook
All textbooksTortora 14th EditionCh. 9 - Biotechnology & DNA TechnologyProblem 5
Chapter 9, Problem 5

If you put a gene in a virus, the next step in genetic modification would be
a. insertion of a plasmid.
b. transformation.
c. transduction.
d. PCR.
e. Southern blotting.

Verified step by step guidance
1
Step 1: Understand the context of the problem, which involves genetic modification using a virus as a vector to carry a gene.
Step 2: Recall that after inserting a gene into a virus, the next step is to introduce this virus into a host cell to deliver the gene.
Step 3: Identify the process by which viruses transfer genetic material into bacterial cells, which is known as transduction.
Step 4: Review the other options: insertion of a plasmid involves plasmids, transformation is uptake of naked DNA, PCR is amplification of DNA, and Southern blotting is a detection method, none of which directly follow gene insertion into a virus.
Step 5: Conclude that the correct next step after putting a gene into a virus is the process of transduction, where the virus transfers the gene into the target cells.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Genetic Modification Using Viruses

Viruses can be used as vectors to deliver foreign genes into host cells, a process central to genetic modification. This involves inserting a gene into the viral genome, which then infects the target cell, introducing the new genetic material.
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Transduction

Transduction is the process by which viruses transfer genetic material from one bacterium to another. It is a natural mechanism exploited in genetic engineering to introduce new genes into cells using viral vectors.
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Transformation vs. Transduction

Transformation involves uptake of naked DNA by cells, while transduction uses viruses to transfer DNA. Understanding the difference helps identify the correct step after inserting a gene into a virus, which is transduction, not transformation.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

You have a small gene that you want replicated by PCR. You add fluorescent dye-labeled nucleotides to the PCR thermal cycler. After three replication cycles, what percentage of the DNA single strands will fluoresce?

a. 0%

b. 12.5%

c. 50%

d. 87.5%

e. 100%

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Textbook Question

Which of the following is the fourth basic step to genetically modify a cell?

a. Transformation

b. Ligation

c. Plasmid cleavage

d. Restriction-enzyme digestion of gene

e. Isolation of gene

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Textbook Question

The following enzymes are used to make cDNA. What is the second enzyme used to make cDNA?

a. Reverse transcriptase

b. Ribozyme

c. RNA polymerase

d. DNA polymerase

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Textbook Question

Describe an rDNA experiment in two or three sentences. Use the following terms: intron, exon, DNA, mRNA, cDNA, RNA polymerase, reverse transcriptase.

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Textbook Question

Suppose you want multiple copies of a gene you have synthesized. How would you obtain the necessary copies by cloning? By PCR?

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Textbook Question

Identify and mark each of the following in making cDNA: transcription, RNA processing, reverse transcription, DNA polymerase, cDNA.

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