Restriction Enzyme Digestion and Analysis of Lambda DNA
Lambda DNA is the DNA of a bacteriophage (bacterial virus). Bacteriophages attack bacteria by inserting its DNA into the bacterial cell. Bacteriophage lambda is harmless to humans and other eukaryotic organisms which is why we closely study it!
Research Question:
- How many HindIII, EcoRI and PStI recognition sites are present on lambda DNA?
- How long are DNA fragments generated by digestion of lambda DNA with these enzymes?
Students will:
- Perform a digestion of lambda DNA with HIndIII, EcoRI, and PstI restriction enzymes
- Load and run digested DNA through Electrophoresis
- Generate a standard curve based on lambda HindIII DNA Standard
- Determine length of all DNA fragments by comparing to the standard curve
Lab skills learned:
- Perform a restriction digest
- Perform agarose gel electrophoresis
- Analyze gel electrophoresis
Restriction Enzyme Digestion and Analysis of Lambda DNA