Problem/situation:

E. coli, or Escherichia coli, is a type of bacteria commonly used by molecular geneticists in recombinant DNA research. One reason is because E. coli has around 5 million DNA base pairs. The E. coli bacteria can be grown in Luria broth mixed with agar, otherwise known as LB agar. Some plasmids,　such as the R plasmids, have genes for resisting antibiotics. Genes are transferred in bacteria by conjugation, a process similar to mating, transduction, a vector carrying info as a liason between 2 bacteria, and transformation. Transformation is the genetic information transfer into a cell by the direct uptake of DNA. Bacteria can take in DNA at a logarithmic rate, during which the cells are called competent. When the cells become competent, they can accept DNA introduced to another source.

In this lab, we are inserting plasmids, circular DNA molecules, that are resistant to...