BISC 219/2009:Creating a Transgenic Organism

At the end of this semester long series you will have mastered the following skills and concepts using both microorganisms and a multicellular organism.

Experimental Objectives:

In this semester long experiment you will:
i) use the Agrobacterium system to introduce a foreign gene, the β -glucuronidase gene (gusA) of E. coli, into the cells of tobacco
ii) take advantage of the totipotency of plant cells and use these transformed cells to regenerate genetically engineered plants
iii) confirm that the regenerated plants are transformed by
a) measuring the activity of the introduced enzyme, β–glucuronidase (GUS) spectrophotometrically and histochemically
b) PCR to test directly for the presence of the introduced genes and
iv) become adept at sterile technique.