What is the Difference Between Recombinant and Nonrecombinant

The main difference between recombinant and nonrecombinant is that recombinant has undergone genetic recombination whereas nonrecombinant has not undergone genetic recombination. 

Recombinant and nonrecombinant are two the two opposite results of genetic studies. Recombinant contains a new combination of genetic elements while nonrecombinant contains the parental sequences of genetic elements.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Recombinant
     – Definition, Features, Significance
2. What is Nonrecombinant
     – Definition, Features, Significance
3. What are the Similarities Between Recombinant and Nonrecombinant
     – Outline of Common Features
4. What is the Difference Between Recombinant and Nonrecombinant
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Genetic Recombination, Molecular Cloning, Nonrecombinant, Recombinant, Screening

What is Recombinant

Recombinant is an organism with genetically-recombined DNA. Sometimes, the term ‘recombinant’ is used to describe the genetically-recombined DNA as well. Molecular cloning is the technique of molecular biology responsible for the production of recombinant DNA (rDNA) by bringing DNA with different sources together. Hence, it creates DNA sequences which would not otherwise be found in the genome. Moreover, the production of rDNA is possible due to the same chemical structure shared by DNA. Therefore, the DNA used for molecular cloning can have various origins such as plant or animal origin.

Figure 1: Production of Recombinant DNA

Furthermore, the purpose of the production of rDNA is to introduce a foreign piece of DNA into an organism, expressing novel proteins inside the host. Therefore, rDNA has a number of applications in biotechnology, medicine, and research. In other words, molecular cloning can be used to manipulate the genome of a particular organism, producing a genetically-modified organism. Also, the foreign proteins produced by a recombinant organism can be enzymes, hormones, antibodies, etc.

What is Nonrecombinant

Nonrecombinant is an organism without genetically-recombined DNA. Also, it only contains the parental DNA and can only express parental phenotypes. However, screening is the step of molecular cloning which involves the recognition of nonrecombinants from the recombinants. Here, the most employed screening system is the blue-white screening system.

Figure 2: Blue-White Screening

For that, the foreign DNA piece or the insert should encode the enzyme, beta-galactosidase. The expression of this enzyme in the cell results in the formation of blue color colonies when grown in the presence of X-gal. Therefore, recombinants can be identified in blue colonies. On the other hand, as nonrecombinants do not contain the DNA encoded for the beta-galactosidase gene, their colonies are unable to produce blue color and stay in colonies with a white color.

Similarities Between Recombinant and Nonrecombinant

• Recombinant and nonrecombinant are two types of sequences observed in the transformants of molecular cloning.
• Both contain most of the parental sequences in the genome.
• Therefore, both of them express most of the parental phenotypes.

Difference Between Recombinant and Nonrecombinant

Definition

Recombinant refers to a cell or organism whose genetic complement results from recombination while nonrecombinant refers to the cell or organism that has parental genetic elements.

Genetic Recombination

The main difference between recombinant and nonrecombinant is that the recombinant has undergone genetic recombination while nonrecombinant has not undergone genetic recombination.

Phenotypes

Thus, while recombinant exhibits novel phenotypes, nonrecombinant exhibits parental phenotypes.

Evolution

Also, another difference between recombinant and nonrecombinant is their contribution to evolution. Recombinant contributes to evolution while nonrecombinant does not contribute to evolution.

Conclusion

Recombinant is the organism with genetically recombined DNA. Here, molecular cloning is the biotechnological techniques used to produce a recombinant organism. Also, a recombinant produce novel phenotypes by expressing foreign DNA inside the organism. On the other hand, nonrecombinant is the organism without genetically-recombined DNA. Therefore, its DNA is similar to the parental DNA. Hence, nonrecombinant only exhibits parental phenotypes. Therefore, the main difference between recombinant and nonrecombinant is the presence of genetically-recombined DNA.

References:

1. Kinsey, Matt, and Beth McCooey. “The Basics of Recombinant DNA.” An Introduction to Recombinant DNA, Available Here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Recombinant formation of plasmids” By Minestrone Soup at English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia   
2. “Blue-white test” By Stefan Walkowski – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia