An advantage of using yeasts rather than bacteria as recipient cells f...
Yeasts have been extensively used for functional expression of eukaryotic genes because they offer several advantages. Yeasts are the simplest eukaryotic organisms and like bacteria are single-celled, genetically well-characterised, easy to grow and manipulate. Since yeast is a eukaryote, it have an intron excision mechanism. Thus, it can be used for producing and expressing recombinant DNA of eukaryotes.
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An advantage of using yeasts rather than bacteria as recipient cells f...
Advantages of using yeasts rather than bacteria as recipient cells for the recombinant DNA of eukaryotes:
There are several advantages to using yeasts as recipient cells for the recombinant DNA of eukaryotes, as compared to bacteria. One of the main advantages is that yeasts can excise introns from the RNA transcript.
1. Yeasts can excise introns from the RNA transcript:
- In eukaryotes, genes contain non-coding regions called introns, which need to be removed from the RNA transcript before translation into proteins.
- Bacteria lack the necessary machinery to remove introns, making them unsuitable for processing eukaryotic genes.
- On the other hand, yeasts, being eukaryotic organisms themselves, possess the necessary enzymes and machinery to accurately excise introns from RNA transcripts.
- This ability allows yeasts to properly process and express eukaryotic genes, making them ideal recipient cells for recombinant DNA work involving eukaryotic genes.
2. Other advantages:
- Yeasts are also advantageous because they can carry out post-translational modifications that bacteria cannot perform. These modifications include proper protein folding, glycosylation, phosphorylation, acetylation, and more.
- Yeasts are capable of performing complex cellular processes similar to those found in higher eukaryotes, making them more suitable for expressing and producing eukaryotic proteins.
- Yeasts are more similar to higher eukaryotes in terms of gene regulation and expression, making them a better model system for studying eukaryotic gene function and regulation.
- Yeasts have a longer lifespan and can undergo multiple rounds of cell division, allowing for the production of larger quantities of recombinant proteins compared to bacteria, which have a shorter lifespan and slower reproduction rate.
- Yeasts can also be easily cultured in large-scale fermentation systems, making them suitable for industrial production of recombinant proteins.
In conclusion, yeasts are advantageous over bacteria as recipient cells for recombinant DNA of eukaryotes due to their ability to accurately excise introns from RNA transcripts, perform post-translational modifications, resemble higher eukaryotes in terms of gene regulation, and produce larger quantities of recombinant proteins.
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