Bioluminescence in Transformed Bacterial Cells

 

Carole Corsby

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 1995, Volume 16

Abstract

This abstract describes a lab exercise for introductory biology students. E. coli cells can be transformed with a plasmid incorporating a gene for bioluminescence. This causes the cells to glow in the dark. Students who perform this transformation exercise are invariably fascinated with the phenomenon, and even more intrigued when they learn that the lux genes were isolated originally from a bacterium found in a fish.

Keywords:  E. coli, bioluminescence, transformation

Emory University (1994)