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Glite Dictionary
🧬 DNA overhang 💀 Bad ending
sticky end

sticky end

8.8
A short DNA end where one strand hangs out and joins a matching strand
  • noun
  • /ˈstɪki ɛnd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : extremo pegajoso
  • And in order to get sticky ends to ligate, those sticky single stranded bits have to base pair with one another.

If you cleave a circle, now you have a linear piece of DNA, OK, But it has sticky ends, right?

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Examples

  • When scientists prepare DNA for cloning, they often create sticky ends to facilitate the bonding of complementary sequences.

  • In genetic engineering, the creation of sticky ends is crucial for the successful assembly of DNA fragments.

  • If you cleave a circle, now you have a linear piece of DNA, OK, But it has sticky ends, right?

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  • And so when it cuts, it leaves sticky ends or unbased paired single stranded regions on each end of the part it's cut, right.

  • The sticky ends of the DNA strands allow for the easy formation of bonds during the ligation process.

Surface Forms

sticky end singular
sticky ends plural

Morphology

sticky + end

The literal senses of 'sticky' (adhering) and 'end' (final point) do not compose to mean an unpleasant or disastrous outcome, so a B1 learner knowing both words would not reliably infer the idiomatic sense. Although 'sticky' can sometimes mean 'troublesome' (e.g. 'in a sticky situation'), the specific phrase 'sticky end' is a conventional idiom with a historical/figurative meaning (often violent or calamitous) that is not predictable from its parts.

Etymology

Sticky end in biology names a DNA end where one strand sticks out a little like a short, sticky tail; that exposed piece can fit a matching piece, so it helps DNA fragments 'join' together.