Describe the micrococcal nuclease assay. What are the 2 kinds of test we discussed and what does it show? Under which conditions would you see a single band? Ladder? Smear? The Micrococcal Nuclease Assay: Assessing DNA Fragmentation

The Micrococcal Nuclease assay: Assessing DNA fragmentation

A valuable tool for assessing DNA fragmentation is the micrococcal nuclear nuclease assay (MNase). MNase can cleave double-stranded genetic material into smaller fragments by randomly choosing. This provides a quick snapshot of DNA fragmentation. Two types of tests are used in the assay: electrophoresis (cleavage) and MNase (double-stranded DNA). The MNase enzyme is used to cut down DNA into small pieces. While the electrophoresis process separates fragments from different sizes using an agarose gel, the cleavage step. If there’s a single band in the gel, it means that the MNase has cut the DNA into smaller fragments. However, the MNase can cleave DNA to a range of sizes if there is a ladder-like structure of bands on the gel. If the gel displays a smearing pattern it indicates that the MNase did not cut the DNA (Schanbacher 2017; Rios and al., 2020). Cont…