WEEK 1

Training

During the first week, we had several training sessions to get acquainted with the lab work, master everyday protocols (PCR/Colony-PCR, competent cells preparation, transformation, cloning, minipreps, PCR clean-ups...), and establish a classic workflow.

Preparing competent cells stock and transformation

We prepared a stock of competent cells using the following protocol. Afterward, we prepared Petri dishes and we transformed the cells to test their efficiency using a plasmid provided by our instructor.

Colony-PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis

The next day we had colonies on our Petri dishes and wanted to check if they acquired the transformed plasmid with the right inserted gene. We picked out some positive colonies and ran a colony-PCR. We then migrated the PCR products on an agarose gel.

DNA purification miniprep

We purified the plasmid with the right inserted gene from the positive colonies using a DNA purification kit. In a further step, we digested the purified plasmid with respective restriction enzymes to double-check the presence of the inserted gene.

Western-blot

The last day, we checked the induced production rate of the relative protein to the inserted gene (Produced in a preliminary step by our instructor) using the following western-blot protocol.