Understanding Restriction Enzyme Digests

Abstract

Prior to submitting genomic DNA for sequencing, SEA students perform a restriction endonuclease digest with several enzymes, which provides a fast and cost-effective way of quickly screening isolated phages. The pattern of bands on the gel should be unique except for very closely related or identical phages, which is useful when trying to identify novel bacteriophages to send for sequencing and ultimately for annotation. Students often struggle with understanding what restriction enzymes are, how they work, and why this is an important step in phage characterization. The ‘Restriction Enzyme Digests’ set of teaching resources provides four active learning exercises that introduce students to restriction enzymes, demonstrate how they work, and why they are a useful tool in the lab and for bacteriophage identification.