Bacterial colonies in DNA cloning?

[sameeralord]

If there is some identical bacteria in petri dish and you insert plasmids containing different DNA fragemnts. When bacteria that takes it up grows, do they grow in separate colonies. I mean does all bacteria that took plasmid A grow into one colony, and all bacteria that got plasmid B into one colony. But at the beginning all the bacteria was identical so why do they grow into separate colonies. Basically in other words I don't understand how bacterial colonies work. Thanks

 

[Ygggdrasil]

The way you isolate bacterial colonies is by diluting the bacteria down to a low concentration and then spreading them out on a petri dish. This way, individual bacterial cells are spread out throughout the petri dish and relatively far away from their neighbors. As the bacteria divide, the progeny of each individual bacteria are spatially separated from each other and form colonies on the plate.

 

[sameeralord]

The way you isolate bacterial colonies is by diluting the bacteria down to a low concentration and then spreading them out on a petri dish. This way, individual bacterial cells are spread out throughout the petri dish and relatively far away from their neighbors. As the bacteria divide, the progeny of each individual bacteria are spatially separated from each other and form colonies on the plate.

Thanks Does this mean, let's say some bacteria took plasmid A and some took plasmid B. Then dilute as you said. Then can there be like 2 or more colonies contaning plasmid A or B.

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Yes. The number of colonies with the plasmid will reflect the number of bacteria that took up the plasmid.

 

[LudusRex]

Thank you for your question. Bacterial colonies in DNA cloning occur when the bacteria takes up plasmids containing different DNA fragments. This process is known as transformation. When the bacteria takes up the plasmid, it becomes genetically modified and can grow into a colony on a petri dish.

To answer your question, yes, the bacteria that takes up plasmid A will grow into one colony, and the bacteria that takes up plasmid B will grow into a separate colony. This is because each plasmid contains a different DNA fragment, which will result in different characteristics and functions in the bacteria. The bacteria may have been identical at the beginning, but after taking up the plasmid, they become genetically different and will grow into separate colonies.

Bacterial colonies are formed due to the bacteria's ability to reproduce rapidly. When a single bacterium takes up the plasmid, it will reproduce and form a colony of genetically identical bacteria that all contain the same plasmid. This allows for easy identification and isolation of the desired bacteria for further study or use in experiments.

I hope this explanation helps to clarify how bacterial colonies work in DNA cloning. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.