What is complementary DNA?

1.Complementary DNA (cDNA) is a synthetic or laboratory-created DNA molecule that is complementary to a specific RNA sequence. It is produced through a process called reverse transcription.

2.The process of reverse transcription involves the synthesis of DNA from an RNA template. This is done by an enzyme called reverse transcriptase, which synthesizes a single-stranded DNA molecule (cDNA) using an RNA strand as a template. The resulting cDNA is complementary to the original RNA sequence from which it was synthesized.

3..cDNA is valuable in molecular biology and biotechnology, particularly in areas such as gene cloning, gene expression analysis, and studying gene function. It is commonly used in the creation of complementary DNA libraries, which are collections of DNA molecules that represent the genes expressed in a particular cell type or tissue at a specific time.

4.cDNA lacks introns (non-coding regions) that are present in the original genomic DNA, as it is synthesized using mature mRNA as a template. Therefore, cDNA represents the coding sequences (exons) of genes, making it a useful tool in studying gene expression and protein synthesis.