You wish to insert a gene in the plasmid below. (Note the neon green lines represent restriction sites.)

Question

You wish to insert a gene in the plasmid below. (Note the neon green lines represent restriction sites.)

Diagram

Description automatically generated

The green area on the plasmid is the ampicillin resistance gene. Explain how you would use it to screen for a recombinant plasmid

Answer 1

After inserting the desired gene into the plasmid, the recombinant plasmid is transformed into a bacterial host (such as E. coli) that is sensitive to ampicillin. The transformed bacterial cells are then grown on a medium containing ampicillin. Only cells that have successfully taken up the recombinant plasmid and now contain the ampicillin resistance gene will be able to grow and form colonies on the ampicillin-containing medium. This process is known as selection, and it allows for the identification of successful transformants or recombinant plasmids.