What are the principles, steps and applications of gene overexpression?

The basic principle of gene overexpression is to artificially construct and add regulatory elements in the upstream of the target gene, so that a large number of genes can be transcribed and translated under artificial control, thus realizing the overexpression of gene products.

The steps of gene overexpression are as follows:

1, construct a clone. The target gene is linked to a specific vector, and the type of vector varies according to the expression system. Generally, vectors contain promoters to enhance gene transcription, and the promoters used in different systems are completely different.

2. Introduce the clone into the expression cell. In Escherichia coli, yeast and mammalian cells, foreign plasmids can be directly introduced into cells, a process called transformation or transfection. For insect expression system, the constructed plasmid needs to be transposed into baculovirus genome before it can be used for transfection.

Applications of gene overexpression: Escherichia coli expression system, yeast expression system, insect expression system, mammalian cell expression system and in vitro translation system (cell-free system).

Extended data:

Application of gene overexpression in medical treatment;

Scientists will not only discover defective genes, but also master how to diagnose, repair, treat and prevent them, which is the frontier of biotechnology development. This achievement will bring immeasurable benefits to human health and life.

The so-called gene therapy refers to the use of genetic engineering technology to transfer normal genes into the cells of patients with diseases, to replace diseased genes, to express missing products, or to treat some genetic diseases by shutting down or reducing the abnormal expression of genes.