Gregory Smutzer | Jan 7, 2001 | 8 min read
In Vitro Translation Systems Researchers synthesize recombinant proteins in cell-free extracts to verify the identity of cloned genes, to study protein-protein, protein-nucleic acid, and protein-drug interactions, and to carry out mutagenesis studies. In vitro protein translation studies rely on the efficient and selective transcription of cloned genes in vitro, which is now not only possible, but also routine, thanks to the identification of bacteriophage (phage) DNA-dependent RNA polymerases a