Question

In the Human Genome Project, the commonly used hosts were bacteria and ______, and the vectors were called as _______, and ____________ respectively.

Answer 1

For sequencing the human genome, DNA from the cell is isolated and cut into fragments of smaller size. This is done as it is very difficult to sequence the long DNA molecule. These fragments are then cloned in hosts using the vectors. The hosts commonly used in the sequencing of DNA were bacteria and yeast, and the vectors are called bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) and yeast artificial chromosome (YAC).

YAC is used to clone large DNA fragments. It has a very high insert capacity. It can carry DNA fragments having a size of about 200–2000 kb.

BAC is circular DNA obtained from bacteria, a prokaryote. It has an insert capacity of up to 350 kb.

The cloning resulted in amplification of DNA fragments that could be now sequenced easily.