Unusual chromosomes and their properties
Apart from other unusual chromosomes that occur „regularly“ in the nature (polytene, lamp brush and B chromosomes), there is also the fourth type of unusual chromosomes – Artificial chromosomes. As their name suggests, they are man-made, synthetic chromosomes, constructed with the intention to be used in genetic engineering on the chromosomal level (manipulation of whole chromosomes). This means that they contain fragments of target DNA inserted into the carrier chromosome, which can then be inserted into the host cell where they will be expressed along with the target DNA (very useful in cloning experiments/applications).
When comparing artificial chromosomes with other vector molecules used in genetic transformations, the major difference (and advantage) of artificial chromosomes is the size of the foreign target DNA they can contain. While other vectors (like plasmids and phages, or hybrid ones like cosmids and phagemids) can contain only up to 50 kb of foreign DNA (in the best case; the number is usually around 10 kb), artificial chromosomes can contain up to 1000 kb of target DNA. This makes them a lot better targets for cloning of larger genes, or for the creation of genomic libraries, e.g.
When we say artificial chromosomes (focusing on human artificial chromosomes), we mean exactly that – they are very similar to the normal chromosomes. In fact, when observed structurally, they are identical, because in order for the artificial chromosome to be functional, it must have all of the parts like the regular chromosomes do. These include centromeres, telomeres, protein scaffold, origin of replication, etc.
The main application of artificial chromosomes is like of any other vector molecule – it can be used to study specific DNA fragments. They can be inserted into the host cells (usually bacteria) which will propagate and the fragment of interest will be transcribed first, and then translated later on. The product in the form of protein can then be analyzed. The same process can also be used to study the gene expression of specific organisms, or to induce a new gene into the target organism. Moreover, artificial chromosomes are great for the creation of genomic libraries (since they can contain a lot more foreign DNA than the regular vector molecules), which effectively reduces the number of vectors needed to store genomic DNA of one organism.
Apart from other unusual chromosomes that occur „regularly“ in the nature (polytene, lamp brush and B chromosomes), there is also the fourth type of unusual chromosomes – Artificial chromosomes. As their name suggests, they are man-made, synthetic chromosomes, constructed with the intention to be used in genetic engineering on the chromosomal level (manipulation of whole chromosomes). This means that they contain fragments of target DNA inserted into the carrier chromosome, which can then be inserted into the host cell where they will be expressed along with the target DNA (very useful in cloning experiments/applications).
When comparing artificial chromosomes with other vector molecules used in genetic transformations, the major difference (and advantage) of artificial chromosomes is the size of the foreign target DNA they can contain. While other vectors (like plasmids and phages, or hybrid ones like cosmids and phagemids) can contain only up to 50 kb of foreign DNA (in the best case; the number is usually around 10 kb), artificial chromosomes can contain up to 1000 kb of target DNA. This makes them a lot better targets for cloning of larger genes, or for the creation of genomic libraries, e.g.
When we say artificial chromosomes (focusing on human artificial chromosomes), we mean exactly that – they are very similar to the normal chromosomes. In fact, when observed structurally, they are identical, because in order for the artificial chromosome to be functional, it must have all of the parts like the regular chromosomes do. These include centromeres, telomeres, protein scaffold, origin of replication, etc.
The main application of artificial chromosomes is like of any other vector molecule – it can be used to study specific DNA fragments. They can be inserted into the host cells (usually bacteria) which will propagate and the fragment of interest will be transcribed first, and then translated later on. The product in the form of protein can then be analyzed. The same process can also be used to study the gene expression of specific organisms, or to induce a new gene into the target organism. Moreover, artificial chromosomes are great for the creation of genomic libraries (since they can contain a lot more foreign DNA than the regular vector molecules), which effectively reduces the number of vectors needed to store genomic DNA of one organism.
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