Sanger Sequencing

Angela Rui

AP Bio

Sanger Sequencing Questions

1. The figurative role that peopled played in the sequencing technique was as the DNA polymerase enzyme which copies the template DNA sequence. We also acted as the PCR by creating many copies of chains and as the gel electrophoresis by separating the DNA sequences.

2. The gel is used to separate and visualize the DNA so that the sequence can be interpreted by using X-ray film and a computer.

3. Color fluorescent tagging is a significant advancement over the use of radioactively tagged nucleotides because colored fluorescent tagging allows all four bases to be sequenced in a single gel lane and includes automated data collection directly from a computer. Radioactively tagged nucleotides in a sequence requires four lanes, one for each base.

4. A person might want to use DNA sequencing technology for molecular biology and to study the genome itself and how proteins are made. It can also be used for evolutionary biology to determine which organisms are related and how they evolved. Finally a person might use DNA sequencing for DNA fingerprinting in forensic identification.

5. Many advancements in basic biology are enabled by advancements in technology because as technology evolves we can learn to use it to our advantage in DNA sequencing or gel electrophoresis and many other methods. The amount of DNA that can be generated for a dollar has improved marginally because technology has improved enough to improve the efficiency in which these sequences are read.