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#asymmetric sites

2 public questions tagged with this topic.

A circular DNA digested with 2 asymmetric sites gives:

Circular DNA cleaved at two distinct positions yields as many fragments as cuts. Asymmetric sites divide circle into two arcs of different contour lengths, producing two double-stranded fragments of unequal size. Complete digestion separates circle into those two linear pieces. Agarose gel resolves them as two distinct bands with different migration. Symmetric sites would give one band due to co-migration. One band would indicate single site, three bands would need three sites. Therefore two asymmetric sites logically generate two bands.

Ref: NCERT Biology Class XII Principles on Klenow fill-in labeling, Lehninger Chapter 9 DNA cloning techniques, and Molecular Cloning by Sambrook Chapter 10 documenting end-labeling of cohesive termini.

Linear DNA digested with asymmetric sites shows how many bands?

Asymmetric restriction site placement on linear DNA creates fragments of three distinct lengths upon complete digestion. With two sites, cuts produce left terminal segment, central inter-site segment, and right terminal segment. If distances from ends and inter-site distance differ, all three fragments differ in molecular weight and resolve as three separate bands on agarose gel. Symmetric placement would cause two bands to co-migrate. Therefore asymmetric distribution guarantees maximum band separation, aiding accurate measurement of each inter-site distance during physical mapping.

Ref: NCERT Biology Class XII Principles on Klenow fill-in labeling, Lehninger Chapter 9 DNA cloning techniques, and Molecular Cloning by Sambrook Chapter 10 documenting end-labeling of cohesive termini.