The purpose of this lab was to genetically transform bacterial plasmid DNA with foreign pieces of DNA, pGLO, that causes expression of an ampicillin resistant gene, and see the effects it has on bacterial growth in presence of the antibiotic, ampicillin. We inserted pGLO DNA into the genome of the bacteria through the use of inoculation loops, Laurel Broth, transformation solution, and procedures such as heat shock and incubation. This experiment involved four bacterial agar plates, two of which we genetically transformed (experimental groups; +pGLO LB/amp/ara and +pGLO LB/amp), and two of which we did not genetically transform and were control plates (-pGLO LB and -pGLO LB/amp/). Out of the two genetically transformed bacteria, only the bacteria containing arabinose sugar (+pGLO LB/amp/ara) initiated expression of the GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) gene, causing the bacterial …show more content…
However, the bacteria in these plates seemed to be largely resistant to ampicillin due to the insertion of the plasmid DNA solution. This solution contains the gene beta-lactamase, a protein which makes the bacteria resistant to the antibiotic ampicillin, essentially allowing the bacteria to survive and continue to grow in presence of the ampicillin. Despite the similarities between the two +pGLO plates, there was still one major difference between them. The +pGLO LB/amp/ara appeared green under UV light due to the presence of arabinose. Arabinose is a sugar that helps trigger the GFP gene (green fluorescent protein), which makes the bacteria glow green when exposed to UV light. In contrast, the +pGLO LB/amp appeared white, even when under the UV light, due to the absence of arabinose. As a result, the GFP gene was not able to be expressed on the +pGLO LB/amp