Figure 19.1
-In the experiment shown in the figure above, Tonegawa and his colleagues were able to express fi- globin in an antibody- producing cell that normally does not express fi- globin. They achieved this result by splicing an enhancer from an antibody- producing gene into the protein- coding portion of the fi- globin gene. They then introduced this recombinant gene into cultured antibody- producing cells. Why was the choice of
Antibody- producing cells-rather than, say, muscle or skin cells-critical for the success of this experiment?
A) Only the antibody- producing cells have the correct regulatory transcription factors to bind to the enhancer.
B) Only the antibody- producing cells are capable of expressing recombinant genes.
C) Only the antibody- producing cells have the correct set of enhancers, promoter- proximal elements, and promoters.
D) Only the antibody- producing cells have the correct set of enhancers.
E) Only the antibody- producing cells have the correct set of promoter- proximal elements.

Question

Figure 19.1
-In the experiment shown in the figure above, Tonegawa and his colleagues were able to express fi- globin in an antibody- producing cell that normally does not express fi- globin. They achieved this result by splicing an enhancer from an antibody- producing gene into the protein- coding portion of the fi- globin gene. They then introduced this recombinant gene into cultured antibody- producing cells. Why was the choice of
Antibody- producing cells-rather than, say, muscle or skin cells-critical for the success of this experiment?
A) Only the antibody- producing cells have the correct regulatory transcription factors to bind to the enhancer. 
B) Only the antibody- producing cells are capable of expressing recombinant genes. 
C) Only the antibody- producing cells have the correct set of enhancers, promoter- proximal elements, and promoters. 
D) Only the antibody- producing cells have the correct set of enhancers. 
E) Only the antibody- producing cells have the correct set of promoter- proximal elements.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Only the antibody-producing cells have the correct regulatory transcription factors to bind to the enhancer, which was spliced from an antibody-producing gene. Muscle or skin cells do not have these regulatory factors, so introducing the recombinant gene into those cells would not have led to successful expression of fi-globin.

Figure 19.1 -In the Experiment Shown in the Figure Above, Tonegawa and Tonegawa