Compared with TBE buffer, TAE buffer offers advantages in subsequent enzymatic applications for the DNA sample. For example, if a DNA sample is going to be used in a cloning experiment, the step that follows its running on an agarose gel is to ligate (covalently link) to a cloning vector (most likely a plasmid). DNA sample from TAE Buffer is suitable for this purpose, while DNA from TBE buffer is not. Borate in the TBE buffer is a strong inhibitor for many enzymes. This enzyme inhibiting property made TBE buffer very popular in its realm for two reasons. First, a DNA sample run in a TBE buffer can better keep its integrity. The other main reason is that the purpose for many agarose gel electrophoreses is to analyze the size of DNA molecules.