Introduction and Perspectives of DNA Electrophoresis

Abstract

Gel electrophoresis of DNA is one of the most frequently used techniques in molecular biology. Typically, it is used in the following: the analysis of in vitro reactions and purification of DNA fragments, analysis of PCR reactions, characterization of enzymes involved in DNA reactions, and sequencing. With some ingenuity gel electrophoresis of DNA is also used for the analysis of cellular biochemical reactions. For example, DNA breaks that accumulate in cells are analyzed by the comet assay and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Furthermore, DNA replication intermediates are analyzed with two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis. Moreover, several new methods for analyzing various chromosomal functions in cells have been developed. In this chapter, a brief introduction to these is given.