Background Biology

Bacterial Transformation

11 steps of background science. Read them in order, or jump to a step that you need.

Step 1 of 11 Genetic transformation happens when new genetic material is taken up by a cell. The new genetic material often provides the organism with a… Step 2 of 11 In this practical we introduce the pGLO plasmid into a non-pathogenic strain of E. coli As a control we also have bacteria which we do not… Step 3 of 11 We use a technique called heat shock to make the bacteria take up the plasmid. Step 4 of 11 The pGLO plasmid confers two important traits to the bacteria. First of all it allows them to glow green (by the production of Green… Step 5 of 11 The gene for Green Fluorescent Protein is under control of an operon called the arabinose operon. This means that the gene is ONLY switched… Step 6 of 11 The +pGLO bacteria and -pGLO bacteria are grown on plates which contain a jelly-like substance called LB agar. LB agar is a nutrient agar… Step 7 of 11 The bacteria are spread onto the agar. Step 8 of 11 1) -pGLO bacteria grown on LB agar These bacteria grow as normal, they do not glow green as they do not have the pGLO plasmid. Step 9 of 11 2) -pGLO bacteria grown on LB agar containing ampicillin. These bacteria are all killed by the antibiotic ampicillin. They do not have the… Step 10 of 11 3) +pGLO bacteria grown on LB agar containing ampicillin. These bacteria have the pGLO plasmid therefore they can grow on ampicillin.… Step 11 of 11 4) +pGLO bacteria grown on LB agar containing ampicillin and arabinose. These bacteria have the pGLO plasmid therefore they can grow on…