Question

One of the first steps in comparing the DNA is obtaining DNA from all of the sources and using a specific enzyme to clip the DNA at different sites. What is this class of enzymes that would complete this to compare DNA from different organisms

Answer 1

Restriction enzymes are the class of enzymes which can cut DNA at different sites to compare the DNA from different organisms.

A restriction enzyme (restriction endonuclease) is a protein that recognizes a specific, short nucleotide sequence and cuts the DNA only at that specific site, which is known as restriction site or target sequence. When a restriction endonuclease recognizes a sequence, it snips through the DNA molecule by catalyzing the hydrolysis (splitting of a chemical bond by addition of a water molecule) of the bond between adjacent nucleotides.

The DNA of different organisms can be subjected to restriction endonuclease treatment, it will be cleaved into fragments. These fragments can be visualized and thus the DNA of different organisms can be compared.

This can be done by seperating the DNA fragments by size, by performing electrophoresis in agarose or acrylamide gel. Thus the DNA fragments can be visualised, and compared.