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Transformation Of Escherichia Coli With pGLO Plasmid

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Transformation Of Escherichia Coli With pGLO Plasmid

April 24, 2013

ABSTRACT: This experiment focuses on genetic engineering and transformation of bacteria. The characteristics of bacteria are altered from an external source to allow them to express a new trait, in this case antibiotic resistance. In is experiment foreign DNA is inserted into Escherichia coli in order to alter its phenotype. The goal of the experiment is to transform E. coli with pGLO plasmid, which carries a gene for ampicillin resistance, and determine the transformation efficiency. The bacteria are transformed by a combination of calcium chloride and heat shock. When the bacteria are incubated on ice, the fluid cell membrane is slowed and then the heat shock …show more content…

Control Plates After Incubation shows whether there was growth of E. coli without the presence of the pGLO plasmid after exposure to ampicillin.

The transformed bacteria showed growth despite the presence of ampicillin (Table 1), whereas the control plate with ampicillin did not show any growth, and the control plate with only LB agar showed the formation of a lawn of bacteria (Table 2). The transformed bacteria on the plate with LB, ampicillin and arabinose differed from the transformed plate without arabinose in that they glowed green under UV light. The bacteria without arabinose maintained an unaltered appearance under UV light. The transformation efficiency for the transformed bacteria was 5.2 × 104 transformants per microgram of DNA.

DISCUSSION: In this experiment the objective was to transform E. coli with the pGLO plasmid and calculate the transformation efficiency. The hypotheses were that the plate with only LB agar and untransformed E. coli would grow a lawn; the control plate of untransformed bacteria with LB and ampicillin would experience no growth; the transformed plate with just LB and ampicillin would grow colonies of bacteria but it would not glow green under UV light; and the transformed plate with LB, ampicillin and arabinose would grow colonies that would glow green under UV light. The results found supported each of these hypotheses as the bacteria grew as predicted. The

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