Students observe the phenotypic effect of adding new DNA sequences to living bacteria. E. coli cells that take up an antibiotic-resistant gene gain the ability to grow in the presence of ampicillin. This kit is approved for AP biology courses. New improved Carolina BLU stain allows visualization of bands while electrophoresing. Reduces staining and destaining time.
Students observe and analyze the stained patterns of DNA fragments separated by gel electrophoresis.
DNA fragments containing two types of antibiotic-resistant genes and insert the recombined DNA into E. coli cells using rapid colony transformation. Cells containing recombined DNA molecules are detected by their dual antibiotic resistance. This is accomplished by digesting lambda DNA with two restriction enzymes, alone and in combination. The distances migrated by the unknown fragments are extrapolated from the graph to calculate their base pair sizes. Accounting for the appearance and disappearance of bands in single vs multiple digests allows you to position the restriction sites relative to one another.