mRNA Analysis and Comparison

Question 1

mRNA is often easier to isolate from cells than DNA as it is found in the …………… and there are many copies in

Answer 1

mRNA is often easier to isolate from cells than DNA as it is found in the cytoplasm and there are usually multiple copies of the same mRNA

Question 2

Collected mRNA from an individual can be used as a template to

Answer 2

produce cDNA (complementary DNA)
The first strand of cDNA produced is complementary to the mRNA (the same as the template strand of the DNA)

The first strand is then used to produce a second cDNA strand which is the same as the coding strand of DNA

Question 3

Unlike the original DNA in the nucleus, the cDNA contains only

Answer 3

the coding regions of the gene (exons) and no introns

It is important to compare the same mRNA between samples

mRNA for a known, universal protein is often used and compared, for example, cytochrome-c (from the electron transport chain)

Question 4

………….can be used that bind to specific sequences

Answer 4

Primers