Question

Suppose that you have just graduated from college and have started working at a biotechnology firm. your first job assignment is to clone the pig gene for the hormone prolactin. assume that the pig gene for prolactin has not yet been isolated, sequenced, or mapped; however, the mouse gene for prolactin has been cloned, and the amino acid sequence of mouse prolactin is known. briefly explain two different strategies that you might use to find and clone the pig gene for prolactin.

Answer 1

With knowledge of the location and sequence of the mouse gene for prolactin, it may be possible to locate the pig gene for prolactin by assessing the same chromosomal location within the pig gene where the gene for prolactin was found in the mouse gene. Some gene locations within the genetic material of an organism are similar across various species. Another way to locate the pig gene for prolactin may be to assess the amino acid sequence for the mouse prolactin gene and then run the genetic sequence for the pig genetic material. The mouse amino acid sequence would then be compared to that of the pig in order to find the same sequence which would provide the code for the pig prolactin gene.