What is the purpose of the bacterial transformation lab?

Bacterial transformation is a key step in molecular cloning, the goal of which is to produce multiple copies of a recombinant DNA molecule. Prior steps for creating recombinant plasmids are described in traditional cloning basics and involve insertion of a DNA sequence of interest into a vector backbone.

What does the transformation experiment tell us about bacteria?

Until Griffith’s experiment, bacteriologists believed that the types were fixed and unchangeable, from one generation to another. Griffith concluded that the type II-R had been “transformed” into the lethal III-S strain by a “transforming principle” that was somehow part of the dead III-S strain bacteria.

What is bacterial transformation lab?

In a lab, we can subject bacteria to conditions that will cause them to take up DNA from the environment (to become “transformed”). Making cells competent renders their cell membrane more permeable to DNA. After the new DNA has entered the bacteria, it is used by the cell to make RNA and then protein.

What is bacterial transformation and what does it tell us about genetics?

Bacterial transformation is a process of horizontal gene transfer by which some bacteria take up foreign genetic material (naked DNA) from the environment. It was first reported in Streptococcus pneumoniae by Griffith in 1928. DNA as the transforming principle was demonstrated by Avery et al in 1944.

What was the error in the bacterial transformation lab report?

There are other sources of error that could have occurred. One source of error could have been not getting enough plasmid DNA on the inoculating loops. Another source of error could have been not spreading the plasmid as well with the glass beads.

Why did we use controls in bacterial transformation?

A source of error that we prevented was if the bacteria just did not grow even without antibiotics. That is the reason why we used controls (the bacteria growing on the LB plates). There are other sources of error that could have occurred. One source of error could have been not getting enough plasmid DNA on the inoculating loops.

How is the transformation lab using E coli?

Much like Griffith’s experiment, we conducted our own transformation lab using E.coli samples and DNA for the genetic expression of fluorescence and ampicillin resistance. E.coli cultures were incubated to increase the growth rate of the bacteria on our control petri dish.

What did we learn in the transformation lab?

This resulted in successful genotypic and phenotypic mutations, such as the ability to be fluorescent or be resistant to ampicillin. Through this lab, we were able to learn how bacterial samples can inherit DNA and the process of transformation efficiency.