pGLO Lab

pGLO Observations , Data Recording & Analysis

1.

Plate Number of Colonies Color of colonies under room light Color of colonies under   UV light - pGLO LB 150 yellow darker yellow and green - pGLO LB/amp none no colony  no colony + pGLO LB/amp 190 yellow darker yellow and green + pGLO LB/amp/ara 220 yellow glowing green

2.	What two new traits do your transformed bacteria have?

The two traits are that the bacteria can glow and that they are resistant to ampicillin.

3.	Estimate how many bacteria were in the 100 uL of bacteria that you spread on each plate. Explain your logic.

There were about 250 bacteria because bacteria divide to double or triple the amount of the colonies of bacteria.

4.	What is the role of arabinose in the plates?

The role of arabinose is to help the bacteria glow and show the presence of green fluorescent protein in the bacteria.

5.	List and briefly explain three current uses for GFP (green fluorescent protein) in research or applied science.

GFP’s ability to glow can be used as an indicator that shows scientists if a certain gene is inserted into the DNA and if it is present in the organism. This helps scientists produce a successful experiment that would later benefit the society. Another use of GFP is to make the cancer cells glow in the organism that they are implanted in. This would help scientists monitor and observe the cancer cells in the organism and produce useful data for cancer research. The third use of GFP is that it could be attached to insulin-producing cells, which would help scientists observe the process in which they are made. This could then improve the treatment for diabetic patients.

6.	Give an example of another application of genetic engineering.

 An application of genetic engineering includes replacing defective genes with the effective ones 

                                               
so that the cells can function properly.