pGLO

by: Ana Pacheco

In the pGLO lab, we attempted to grow green glow bacteria in different plates. We started with
HB101 and added other components to see how it changed. We found that the bacteria grew in single
dash, and double dash plates. We later determined that these plates contained Beta Lactamase (antibiotic
resistance gene). This gene breaks a bond in the beta lactam ring of penicillin to disable the molecule.
The antibiotic that was added to single and double dash was ampicillin. With no dash, there was no Beta
Lactamase in the plasmid which resulted in the bacteria being killed by ampicillin and not growing at all.
Another aspect of the bacteria was that some of it glowed. We found out that only the bacteria only
glowed when it was a + // dish. That dish contained the beta lactamase gene and green fluorescent protein,
but the GFP was only activated by the presence of arabinose and araC in the plasmid. araC is the region in
the plasmid that regulates the expression of GFP and arabinose catalyzes the expression. These
components are the recipe to glowing HB101. Besides araC,
GFP, and Bla, the plasmid contains an ori. This is where the
bacteria replicates, allowing the transformed bacteria to affect
multiple cells. The characteristics of this bacteria are more than
just cool. They bring potential to more medical discoveries,
cures and research. GFP is a visual marker that can be attached
to a protein. Glowing proteins can help visualize biological
processes. This technique can be used to track cancerous cell more
effectively. Also, doctors can be able to see how organs develop.
Another benefit of glowing proteins is that a doctor can mark
disorders in a gene and be able to indicate it in future generations.

References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PGLO (8/18/15)
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome- (8/18/15)
https://www.google.com/search?
q=pglo&safe=strict&espv=2&biw=1440&bih=838&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUo
AWoVChMI46HkxcjMyAIVAvdjCh2GWgMG#imgrc=ZSdzBsPJLmX6jM%3A (8/18/15)
Mrs. Donleys Class Lectures (8/14/15)