Molecular cloning is a set of experimental methods in molecular biology that are used to assemble recombinant DNA molecules and to direct their replication within host organisms. The use of the word cloning refers to the fact that the method involves the replication of one molecule to produce a population of cells with identical DNA molecules. Molecular cloning generally uses DNA sequences from two different organisms: the species that is the source of the DNA to be cloned, and the species that will serve as the living host for replication of the recombinant DNA. Molecular cloning methods are central to many contemporary areas of modern biology and medicine.
Diagram of a commonly used cloning plasmid; pBR322. It's a circular piece of DNA 4361 bases long. Two antibiotic resistance genes are present, conferring resistance to ampicillin and tetracycline, and an origin of replication that the host uses to replicate the DNA.
Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions.
Griffith's experiment
Two percent agarose gel in borate buffer cast in a gel tray
SDS-PAGE
Transduction image