Untitled Document Sample Exam Questions 1. Isolation and characterization of mutants forms the basis for genetic analysis of bacterial growth and physiology. In general terms , describe how mutations can be used to study or identify the following. Use examples in your explanations. The ability for bacteria to take up DNA is known as competence.
Bacteria are either naturally competent or can be made competent artificially.
Explain the differences between these two forms of competence. You are given a lysate of wild type bacteriophage lambda and a lambda-sensitive E. coli host . Your goal is to isolate a clear plaque mutant of lambda. Your best friend, who is a history major and knows nothing about microbiology, wants to help you with this project. Beginning with a phage lysate and E. coli strain, describe the steps you would use to isolate a clear plaque mutant.