Question

When cloning a gene, one of the steps is to use restriction enzymes to insert the gene of interest into a vector. If you separated the empty vector (the vector without the gene of interest) and the cloned vector (the vector that has the gene of interest added) using agarose gel electrophoresis, what do you expect to observe on the agarose gel if both vectors are loaded at the same position at the top of the gel?

Answer 1

The question is incomplete as it does not have the options which are:

The empty vector would migrate the same distance as the cloned vector.

It is impossible to know without knowing the identity of the gene of interest.

The empty vector would migrate farther down than the cloned vector.

The cloned vector would migrate farther down than the cloned vector.

Answer:

The empty vector would migrate farther down than the cloned vector.

Explanation:

In recombinant technology, an empty vector is considered a vector which is present without the gene of interest and thus is of small size and the cloned vector is the vector which has a gene of interest along with the usual sequence.

The cloned vector is larger compared to the empty vector as the cloned vector has a gene of interest whereas the empty vector does not have.

In-gel electrophoresis technique, the DNA samples are run and the size of the fragment is known according to the ladder sequence which is used as a reference and have the band size in increasing order from lower side to upper side.

When the vectors sun on the gel, the small size gene will move faster and to the farthest distance compared to the larger DNA that is empty vector will cover the maximum distance while the cloned vector will cover the less distance.

Thus, the selected option is correct.