Teacher Training in Genetics and Biotechnology

Bacterial transformation illustrates the direct link between an organism's genetics (genotype) and its observable characteristics (phenotype), and demonstrates how genetic engineering is used to produce human proteins such as insulin. In this lab participants will introduce genes for antibiotic resistance and fluorescence into the bacterium E. coli. Following overnight incubation, transformed bacteria can be compared to control bacteria for their ability to grow in the presence of ampicillin and glow when exposed to UV light.

The DNA restriction analysis experiment demonstrates that DNA can be precisely manipulated with enzymes that recognize and cut specific target sequences. In this lab, restriction enzymes—the scissors of molecular biology—are used to digest DNA from the bacteriophage lambda. After cutting, the DNA fragments are visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis, allowing students to identify a "mystery" enzyme through comparison with controls.