The Theory Of Bacterial Transformation - 1417 Words

Background theory: Bacterial transformation is a versatile tool of central importance to molecular biology (The American Phytopathological Society, 2016; The Biotechnology Education Company, 2003). It is a process whereby bacterial cells take up and express exogenous DNA, resulting in the expression of a newly acquired genetic trait that is both stable and heritable (The Biotechnology Education Company, 2003; Bruce Roe, n.d.). For transformation to take place, the bacterial cells must enter a particular physiological state, called ‘competency’, which will accommodate transformation (The Biotechnology Education Company, 2003). Bacteria are single celled organisms that can easily pass information between one another, and thus, changes in†¦show more content†¦The pFluoroGreen plasmid contains two exogenous genes; the GFP gene and a gene for ampicillin resistance (The American Phytopathological Society, 2016). This can be seen in the below figure: Figure 2: pFluoroGreen plasmid contents (Biotechnology Education and Training Sequence Investment, 2008) Ampicillin inhibits bacterial growth by preventing the synthesis of the E. coli cell walls, resulting in cell death (The Biotechnology Education Company, 2003; Bruce Roe, n.d.). When the ampicillin resistance gene is present, it directs the production of an enzyme which blocks the action of ampicillin. Therefore, when the transformation liquid is placed on an ampicillin agar plate, the E. coli cells which reject the plasmid will not be able to block the effects of ampicillin, and therefore, will not be able to grow on the plate (The American Phytopathological Society, 2016). Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) production is controlled by the GFP gene, which is located in specialised photogenic cells in discrete spots around the bell margin of the natural host; bioluminescent jellyfish Aequorea victoria, which is shown in Figure 3 (The Biotechnology Education Company, 2003; The American Phytopathological Society, 2016). Figure 3: Aequorea victoria glowing jellyfish (Mills. C, n.d.) The gene used in the experiment is