• Question: why do you clone DNA

    Asked by anon-200941 to David on 9 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: David Walker-Sünderhauf

      David Walker-Sünderhauf answered on 9 Mar 2019:

      I clone genes and DNA for two reasons: the first is as a ‘tool’ in microbiology to give bacteria in the lab extra abilities – the most common thing me, and others, use this for is to “tag” a certain bacterial strain by for example inserting a gene that makes it blue. Then it’s easier to tell this bacterial strain apart from a different one! This is called cloning, because it involves taking a gene from one bacterial species, copying it, and inserting it into a different bacterium.
      The other reason I am cloning DNA is very specifically linked to my own project: it’s to give certain bacteria the exciting properties of being able to remove antibiotic resistance genes. Again, this is down by copying genes from different sources and changing them a bit, so they break exactly the DNA sequences (of antibiotic resistance genes) I want them to.

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