2005 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript
This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2005. The NHGRI Director and many genomics experts from across NHGRI took questions from students, teachers and the general public on topics ranging from basic genomic research, to the genetic basis of disease, to ethical questions about genetic privacy.
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Is it possible to take apart DNA and rearrange it to form a different gene?
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John Hodges, M.S.: The short answer is, 'yes'. This can happen on a couple of different levels. Meiotic recombination occurs in Meiosis and is responsible for generating a significant portion of the genetic diversity that fules evolution. Essentially, large pieces of sister chromosomes swap places and this sometimes leads to the combination of new genetic elements creating a new gene or changing expression levels of that gene.
It is also possible to manipulate genes and other pieces of DNA in the laboratory. Researchers, using a host of different enzymes and other technologies, can isolate different pieces of DNA, change them, and piece them back to together again. This is called molecular biology. |
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