Gene Cloning — Prelims Strategy

Prelims Strategy

Read the noun attached to cloning before evaluating the claim. Copies of a DNA segment establish a sequence-level result, whereas reproductive cloning concerns an organism. Deliberately changing sequence is gene editing; copying does not imply that such a change occurred. Related techniques may be used together without becoming synonyms.

Distinguish the vector from the host. A plasmid carrier is DNA, while the host is a cell. A replication origin relates to DNA replication; a promoter relates to transcription. Neither feature by itself proves that a protein has the intended activity. Measurements of DNA, RNA, protein presence and product function should be treated as separate evidence.

For cDNA questions, notice whether the starting RNA is fully spliced mature mRNA. Removed introns will be absent, but untranslated regions may remain. Do not treat “intron-free” and “entirely protein-coding” as equivalent. Finally, compare PCR with classical host-based cloning by the copying system involved, rather than inferring an organism-level or therapeutic outcome from either technique.