Training Exercise

fig 1. The GFP containing plasmid to which the bacillus gene was fused.

During our introductory first weeks, we were set the task of finding an interesting protein in Bacillus, and designing the appropriate primers to make a GFP fusion to this protein. Then, we used the process of Gibson Assembly to create our fusion.

This exercise introduced many of us to laboratory work for the first time, and helped reinforce the key concepts and 'central dogma' of molecular biology, as well as providing practice in reading research papers - key skills for the bigger projects ahead.

The group was divided into three for this exercise; each group worked independently to create a separate gene fusion.

• Cat, Jonathan, Haydn and Ai
• Joe, Matt, Felix and Gerrit
• Katy, Heather, Marta and Veronica
• Positive Control Experiment