In: Biology
Why would we choose a cDNA library over a genomic DNA library? In other words, what is the difference between the two?
cDNA LIBRARY- cDNA stands for complementary DNA. To construct a cDNA library mRNA is obtained first, then with the help of reverse transcriptase, the DNA strand is produced which is then inserted into a bacterial plasmid. The plasmids are then inserted into a host cell ( bacterial cell) and cultured. Then isolation and purification of the DNA is done and the DNA is sequenced. Thus, the cDNA library represents the transcriptome (as the DNA is derived from mRNA). The size of the cDNA library is usually smaller than the genomic library.
Genomic DNA library- In this type, the library includes the total chromosome content of an organism. The coding and non-coding both parts are included in this type of library, thus the size of this library is much larger than the cDNA library. Because of the large size of the fragments, it is stored into plasmids, cosmids, yeast artificial chromosomes(YAC) and bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC).