Chapter 5: Blackboard Quiz

You are interested in an uncharacterized gene that contains an interesting combination of predicted protein domains. To determine in which mouse tissues it is expressed, the best method is…

Northern Blot

You have identified a specific region in a virus that you suspect is bound by the host transcription factor Sp1.  Which of the following methods could you use to test your hypothesis?

1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation 

2. electromobility shift assay 

3. DNase I footprinting 

What has not been used as a model organism in molecular biology research?

Homo Sapiens

You are interested in studying genes on various chromosomes. What method should you use to locate the genes on these chromosomes?

In Situ Hybridization

You want to study regulatory regions that control expression of a gene whose protein product is difficult to measure quantitatively. What method should you use to analyze gene expression?

Reporter gene assay 

The technique of in situ hybridization gives information about:

Which genes are being transcribed in a particular cell

You have received from a scientific collaborator some transgenic mice that have had the gene encoding the BRCA1 gene knocked out.  Which method would help you to confirm the genotype of these mice most directly?

Southern blot

During the process of two-dimensional PAGE

the first dimension separates proteins by isoelectric point and the second dimension separates them by size.

Why is sodium dodecyl sulfate used in SDS-PAGE experiment?

To coat polypeptides with negative charges, so they all electrophorese toward the anode.

Southern blotting is the process that is used to identify

DNA

Northern blotting is the process that is used to identify

RNA

What reporter genes allows one to visualize a protein in living cells?

green fluorescent protein (GFP)

The distance moved by a protein into a gel is inversely proportional to the

logarithm of molecular weight 

In an indirect immunofluorescence assay, which component is fluorescently labeled?

The secondary antibody 

Which of the following is not a property of green fluorescent protein (GFP)?

GFP requires addition of a cofactor for light production.

A chromatin immunoprecipitation assay is a process that is used to identify

DNA-protein interactions 

A coimmunoprecipitation assay is a process that is used to identify

protein-protein interactions

Production of recombinant proteins in bacteria involves the cloning of the cDNA encoding the desired protein into an “expression vector” that contains a(n)

promoter 

At its isoelectric point

A protein has no net charge

Western blotting is the process that is used to identify

protein