In blue-white screening, what do blue colonies represent?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking about the significance of blue colonies in the context of blue-white screening, a molecular biology technique used to identify recombinant bacteria. Blue colonies typically indicate successful insertion of plasmid DNA into a bacterial host.
Answer
Cells containing empty plasmid vectors.
The final answer is cells containing empty plasmid vectors.
Answer for screen readers
The final answer is cells containing empty plasmid vectors.
More Information
In blue-white screening, blue colonies indicate the presence of bacteria with plasmids that do not have an inserted foreign DNA fragment. This is because the lacZ gene remains functional and produces β-galactosidase, which hydrolyzes X-gal to produce a blue color.
Tips
A common mistake is to confuse blue colonies with cells containing plasmids with inserts; blue colonies actually signify the opposite.
Sources
- Blue-White Screening & Protocols for Colony Selection - sigmaaldrich.com
- In blue-white screening, what do blue colonies | Chegg.com - chegg.com
- Blue–white screen - Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org
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