Gene methylation can be detected through the use of restriction endonucleases. Usually these are used in pairs where one enzyme will digest only unmethylated DNA in its recognition sequence while the other is insensitive to methylation. Which of the following statements is correct?
A)The enzyme that is insensitive to methylation serves as a control to make sure the inability of the other enzyme to digest DNA is not due to a mutation.
B)These are used in pairs since experiments have to be replicated and this one way of performing a replication of the experiment
C)The experimental design is flawed since there should be a third enzyme that would serve as a positive cocntrol
D) This experimental design is able to detect most of the methylated C residues in a particular region of DNA.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The enzyme that is insensitive to methylation serves as a control to ensure that the inability of the other enzyme to digest DNA is due to methylation and not a mutation in the recognition sequence. This is a common practice in experimental design to control for potential confounding factors. Option B is incorrect because using restriction endonucleases in pairs is not a replication of the experiment, but rather a way to control for variability. Option C is incorrect because the design already has a control, as explained in option A. Option D is incorrect because the design may not detect all methylated C residues in a given region of DNA.

Gene Methylation Can Be Detected Through the Use of Restriction