Make connections Imagine you want to study one of the human crystallins, proteins present in the lens of the eye (see Figure 1.8
). To obtain a sufficient amount of the protein of interest, you decide to clone the gene that codes for it. Assume you know the sequence of this gene. How would you go about this?
In order to clone the sequence of the gene for one of the human crystallins found in the eye, there is a need for the application of polymerase chain reaction. In the process, the particular sequence of gene is denatured and then replicated various times to generate various clones of the gene sequence.
By producing various copies of the gene sequence for the human crystallin, that is, desirable, a scientist can examine various distinct characteristics of the protein as there is always more to examine with.
