biology
Someone has just given you the cDNA for GFP and you would like to design a construct that would result in GFP becoming resident within the ER. What would you do to this cDNA that would result in this final location. Explain.
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To get GFP resident within the ER, you would need to add a "tag" to the cDNA that allows the cell’s cellular machinery to recognize the GFP and route it to the ER. The most commonly used ER-targeting tag is an ER retention signal sequence (KDEL). You would need to add the KDEL sequence onto the 3' end of the cDNA, which is the coding strand. The KDEL sequence or ER retention signalsequence binds to receptors in the endoplasmic reticulum, which facilitate its journey to the inside of the cell. Adding the KDEL sequence to the 3' end of the cDNA allows the GFP to transport across the ER membrane and stay in the ER.
