Lesson 3: Analysis of Results

1. Which of the traits that you originally observed for E.coli did not seem to become altered? In the space below, list these untransformed traits and how you arrived at this analysis for each trait listed.  (Anisha)
   
   
   
   By comparing the +pGLO plates with the control or the –pGLO plates, it was easy to identify the traits which were not transformed. Traits that were originally observed which did not seem to become altered include:
   
   

   Original Trait	Analysis of Observations
   Colour of the bacteria	Bacteria are still a faded, whitish colour
   Shape of the colonies	Bacteria’s shape are still relatively circular and flat
   Size of the colonies	Colonies have not experienced any significant changes in size (after comparing both the +pGLO plates and the –pGLO plates

   
   
   
   
2. Of the E.coli traits you originally noted, which seem to be significantly different after performing the transformation procedure? List those traits below and describe changes that you observed.  (Athira)
   
   

   New Trait	Observed Change
   Fluorescent	Glows under UV light
   Ampicillin Resistant	Stayed alive in an environment with ampicillin

   
   
   
3. If the genetically transformed cells have acquired the ability to live in the presence of the antibiotic ampicillin, then what might be inferred about the other genes on the plasmid that you used in your transformation procedure?  (Samar)
   
   

   It can be inferred that as a result of the genetically transformed cells having acquired the ability to live in the presence of the antibiotic ampicillin, the other genes on the plasmid that were used in the transformation procedure must express a gene coding for ampicillin resistance.
   
   
4. From the results that you obtained, how could you prove that the changes that occurred were due to the procedure that you performed?  (Arrjun)
   
   
   The best way to prove that that the changes are a result of the procedure performed is to compare the control plate to the experimental. Cells that were not treated with the plasmid of the gene of resistance cannot grow on the anti-biotic (Ampicillin), whereas the cells that were treated with the plasmid containing the gene of resistance should grow on the anti-biotic (Ampicillin.) Therefore if the plasmid possessed the gene of resistance to the anti-biotic and was conjugated into the bacterium colony, than the results were due to the procedure preformed.