To clone a particular fragment of DNA, it is first inserted into a plasmid vector. To insert a piece of DNA into a plasmid vector, the purified plasmid DNA is opened up by a restriction enzyme that cleaves it at a single site, and the DNA fragment to be cloned is then spliced into that site using DNA ligase. This recombinant DNA molecule is now ready to be introduced into a bacterium, where it will be copied and amplified.
B.
The resulting recombinant plasmid DNA is then introduced into a bacterium by transformation. These bacteria are then suspended in a nutrient-rich broth and allowed to proliferate.
C.
In 24 hours, the engineered cells will produce hundreds of millions of copies of the plasmid, along with the DNA fragment it contains. The bacteria can then be split open (lysed) and the plasmid DNA purified from the rest of the cell contents, including the large bacterial chromosome.
D.
The DNA fragment can be readily recovered by cutting it out of the plasmid DNA with the same restriction enzyme that was used to insert it, and then separating it from the plasmid DNA by gel electrophoresis. Together, these steps allow the amplification and purification of any segment of DNA from the genome of any organism.