A restriction enzyme or restriction endonuclease is defined as a protein that recognizes a specific, short nucleotide sequence and cuts the DNA only at or near that site, known as restriction site or target sequence. The four most common types of restriction enzymes include: Type I (cleaves at sites remote from a recognition site), Type II (cleaves within or at short specific distances from a recognition site), Type III (cleave at sites a short distance from a recognition site), and Type IV (targets modified DNA- methylated, hydroxymethylated and glucosyl-hydroxymethylated DNA). The most common challenges with restriction digest include- 1. inactivation of the enzyme, 2. incomplete or no digestion, and 3. unexpected cleavage. The enzyme should always be stored at -20C and multiple freeze-thaw cycles should be avoided in order to maintain optimal activity. Always use a control DNA digestion with the enzyme to ensure adequate activity (to avoid interference due to high glycerol in the enzyme). For complete digestion, make sure that the enzyme volume is 1/10th of the total reaction volume, the optimal temperature is constantly maintained throughout the reaction, the total reaction time is appropriately calculated based on the amount of DNA to be digested, appropriate buffers should be used to ensure maximal enzymatic activity, and in case of a double digest, make sure that the two restriction sites are far enough so that the activity of one enzyme cannot interfere with the activity of the other. Star activity (or off-target cleavage) and incomplete cleavage are potential challenges which may occur due to suboptimal enzymatic conditions or inappropriate enzyme storage. To avoid these, follow the recommended guidelines for storage and reactions, and always check for the efficacy of digestion along with purification of digested products on an agarose gel.
Get tips on using Anti-LC3B antibody (ab48394) to perform Autophagy assay cell type - U2OS (human bone osteosarcoma epithelial cells)
Get tips on using pUC8CVX-RsaAΔ0–222 to perform Protein Expression Prokaryotic cells - C. crescentus JS1014 RsaAΔ0–222
Get tips on using LC3B Antibody Kit for Autophagy to perform Autophagy assay cell type - Human neural progenitor cells (NPC)
Get tips on using DeadEnd™ Colorimetric TUNEL System to perform TUNEL assay cell type - Islets of langerhans (Beta cells)
Get tips on using DeadEnd™ Fluorometric TUNEL System to perform TUNEL assay cell type - HeLa cells human cervical cancer
Get tips on using CYTO-ID® Autophagy detection kit to perform Autophagy assay cell type - Hippocampal neural stem cells
Get tips on using VasoTACS™ In Situ Apoptosis Detection Kit to perform TUNEL assay cell type - Mouse endothelial cells
Get tips on using PE Annexin V Apoptosis Detection Kit I to perform Apoptosis assay cell type - Human T-cells
Get tips on using FITC Annexin V Apoptosis Detection Kit I to perform Apoptosis assay cell type - Human T-cells
Fill out your contact details and receive price quotes in your Inbox
Outsource experiment