Transformation Microbiology Lab Term Paper
Glowing Transformations
Abstract
In this experiment, the idea is to become familiar with the transformation of cells. A well thought out procedure, involving a heat shock procedure, a good antibiotic, an inducer known as arabinose to show the newly expressed DNA by a visible fluorescent glow, and a stable control group is what contributes to this experiments thoroughness. It is predicted that the four agar plates will all yield different forms of growth, with different coloration and colony number. It is also predicted that the agar plate media containing the arabinose will grow a green fluorescent color and the (-)pGlo plate with ampicillin will exhibit no growth at all, due to the lack of the plasmid that is resistant to ampicillin. The prediction for the other two plates lacking arabinose is a growth of colorless colonies. Multiple medical experiments are credited towards transformation, especially ones involving cancer and the transformation of normal cells to neoplastic and cancerous cells.
Introduction
The general purpose of the Transformation Lab was to observe the difference in bacterial growth under differing media conditions to help understand the process of transformation and how it contributes to the life of living organisms. "Transformation" is what occurs when a cell receives and expresses a new piece of DNA that was otherwise foreign to it before [1]. This type of experiment demonstrates what happens when a cell transforms and expresses a gene it once did not have, which is basically the gene that makes it glow fluorescent green. This particular glowing gene comes from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. This glowing gene is taken from the jellyfish and the E. coli takes in the GFP protein from the jellyfish DNA, transforms to accept the glowing gene, and will then provide its own fluorescent green glow under UV light when it begins to express the gene [1]. People may wonder why this type of study is important, besides making things
Abstract
In this experiment, the idea is to become familiar with the transformation of cells. A well thought out procedure, involving a heat shock procedure, a good antibiotic, an inducer known as arabinose to show the newly expressed DNA by a visible fluorescent glow, and a stable control group is what contributes to this experiments thoroughness. It is predicted that the four agar plates will all yield different forms of growth, with different coloration and colony number. It is also predicted that the agar plate media containing the arabinose will grow a green fluorescent color and the (-)pGlo plate with ampicillin will exhibit no growth at all, due to the lack of the plasmid that is resistant to ampicillin. The prediction for the other two plates lacking arabinose is a growth of colorless colonies. Multiple medical experiments are credited towards transformation, especially ones involving cancer and the transformation of normal cells to neoplastic and cancerous cells.
Introduction
The general purpose of the Transformation Lab was to observe the difference in bacterial growth under differing media conditions to help understand the process of transformation and how it contributes to the life of living organisms. "Transformation" is what occurs when a cell receives and expresses a new piece of DNA that was otherwise foreign to it before [1]. This type of experiment demonstrates what happens when a cell transforms and expresses a gene it once did not have, which is basically the gene that makes it glow fluorescent green. This particular glowing gene comes from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. This glowing gene is taken from the jellyfish and the E. coli takes in the GFP protein from the jellyfish DNA, transforms to accept the glowing gene, and will then provide its own fluorescent green glow under UV light when it begins to express the gene [1]. People may wonder why this type of study is important, besides making things
Cited: 4. Yu XW, Xu Y, Gong YH, Qian X, Yuan Y. 2011. Helicobacter pylori induces malignant transformation of gastric epithelial cells in vitro. APMIS. 2011 Mar;119(3):187-97. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0463.2010.02709.x. Epub 2011 Jan 18. . 5. Botlagunta M, Winnard PT, Raman V. 2010. Neoplastic Transformation of Breast Epithelial cells by genotoxic stress. BMC Cancer 2010, 10:343 doi:10.1186/1471-2407-10-343. .