For this lab, we will be performing what is known as "genetic transformation" with some unwitting bacteria and sticking in the gene that makes a jellyfish glow known as the "Green Florescent Protein". If done correctly (which is how I plan to do it) the bacteria will gain this glowing ability and I will be very impressed with myself. To accomplish our goal to make stuff that doesn't normally glow glow, we will need the help of plasmids, which are small circular pieces of DNA, as plasmids in bacteria are naturally meant to adapt new genes into the bacteria.
The method to get the glowing plasmid into our dear bacteria friends is called "heat shock", which essentially makes the membrane around the bacteria very permeable. Which is good. We want this to happen because then stuff can get in and we want our plasmid stuff in there. After the plasmid is in, we need to keep the bacteria incubated with adequate nutrients so that they can express their brand-spankin'-new genes.
To Be Continued...
