Ligation

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Ligation when foreign DNA is incorporated into plasmid

In molecular biology, ligation is the enzyme-catalyzed linking of two DNA or RNA segments at their ends. The 3'-hydroxy end is connected to the 5'-phosphate end of the nucleic acid segments with the aid of the enzyme ligase by forming a phosphodiester bond .

Ligation is used, for example, in cloning . “Foreign” DNA is inserted into a plasmid. For this purpose, the plasmid is cut (linearized) with restriction enzymes . The foreign DNA, which is also linear, is incubated together with the cut plasmid and a ligase, the ends being linked to one another.

More rarely, two RNA molecules are linked to one another by ligation. In order to increase the yield, a so-called DNA splint is often used, which is complementary to the ends of the two RNAs and can thus bring them into spatial proximity. According to the authors of the first description, this type of ligation is often referred to as Moore-Sharp DNA-splinted RNA ligation .

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