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DNA gel electrophoresis: The reptation model(s)
Author(s) -
Slater Gary W.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
electrophoresis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.666
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1522-2683
pISSN - 0173-0835
DOI - 10.1002/elps.200900154
Subject(s) - reptation , pulsed field gel electrophoresis , gel electrophoresis , capillary electrophoresis , dna , gel electrophoresis of nucleic acids , electrophoresis , free flow electrophoresis , computational biology , biology , genetics , gel electrophoresis of proteins , polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , gene , biochemistry , polymer , genotype , organic chemistry , enzyme
DNA gel electrophoresis has been the most important experimental tool to separate DNA fragments for several decades. The introduction of PFGE in the 1980s and capillary gel electrophoresis in the 1990s made it possible to study, map and sequence entire genomes. Explaining how very large DNA molecules move in a gel and why PFGE is needed to separate them has been an active field of research ever since the launch of the journal Electrophoresis . This article presents a personal and historical overview of the development of the theory of gel electrophoresis, focusing on the reptation model, the band broadening mechanisms, and finally the factors that limit the read length and the resolution of electrophoresis‐based sequencing systems. I conclude with a short discussion of some of the questions that remain unanswered.