Q.Name the enzymes used in Genetic Engineering.

Restriction enzymes, DNA ligase, alkaline phosphatase and reverse transcriptase are the principal enzymes used in genetic engineering.

Genetic engineering depends on a toolkit of highly specific enzymes, each performing a distinct step in constructing recombinant DNA. Restriction endonucleases (molecular scissors), such as EcoRI or HindIII, recognise short, specific palindromic DNA sequences and cut the DNA there, generating fragments -- often with complementary "sticky ends" -- from both the gene of interest and the vector. DNA ligase (molecular glue) then catalyses the formation of new phosphodiester bonds between the cut ends of the vector and the foreign DNA fragment, sealing them into a single, continuous recombinant DNA molecule. Alkaline phosphatase, purified from calf intestine, is used to remove the terminal 5'-phosphate groups from a linearised vector so that it cannot simply reseal (self-ligate) on itself before the intended insert is joined in, improving the efficiency of obtaining true recombinants. Reverse transcriptase, an enzyme derived from retroviruses, synthesises a complementary DNA (cDNA) strand using an mRNA template, which is essential for cloning eukaryotic ge …