Martin Chalfie's Research

This lab investigated the central dogma of molecular biology by studying the expression of jellyfish Green Fluorescent Protein in E. coli (Mardigan, 2011). After transforming E. coli with the GFP gene under the arabinose operon promoter, GFP expression was analyzed with and without arabinose. Induction was seen only in media with arabinose. To further study GFP protein and structure, an SDS-Page or gel electrophoresis was conducted where proteins were charged to allow them to move in an electrical field in terms of their size. To further study the role of the arabinose operon in GFP expression an overnight culture was done where the plate was frozen and incubated to induce optimal protein folding. The GFP was then purified. Centrifugation, use of buffers, and a column was used to separate the GFP and bacterial cells.

The GFP gene is normally isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, allowing it to fluoresce with the absorption of ultraviolet light (Goodsell, 2003). This gene is inserted into a region of a plasmid to be regulated by an operon (Brown, 2011). In the plasmid, GFP is normally repressed but when arabinose is present, it will induce the gene to make enzymes able to digest the arabinose, and once there is no more arabinose,

This lab is about moving genes from one thing to another using plasmids. Plasmid has the ability to replicate, so it replicates independently, and separately from the chromosomal DNA. Plasmid are one or more small piece of DNA and they enter cells as a double strand DNA. When they enter the cell as a doubke strand they do not invade he chromosomal DNA. We will also transform bacteria into GFP which is mainly from the jelly fish Aequorea Victoria. The GFP causes the the jelly fish to fluorescent and glow in the dark. After the transformation, bacteria starts to make the GFP which causes them to glow a green color under a ultraviolet light.

The purpose of the PGLO lab was to be able to perform a procedure known as a genetic transformation. We used a procedure to transform bacteria with the gene that codes for a Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). The actual source of the GFP gene that we used in this complicated experiment is the bioluminescent jellyfish Aequorea victoria. This protein causes the jellyfish to glow under a UV light that was provided in the dark. After the transformation procedure, the bacteria showed their newly acquired gene from a jellyfish and produced the fluorescent protein, which as a result, causes it to glow. If the bacteria glowed in the dark, that was the initial sign that the experiment was successful.

Later, in 1909, he worked in research at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts. Just furthered his education by obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Chicago, where he studied experimental embryology and graduated magna cum laude.

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) comes from the jellyfish Aequorea Victoria is rare proteins with high fluoresce and absorbance. The purpose this experiments is to purify and express a His2-tagged recombinant from of GFP (rGFP) from the E. coli strain BL21(DE3)< pRSETA-GFPUV > through a series of experiments by using Ni+2 agarose affinity chromatography technology. The GFPuv gene (UV-optimized GFP) was over expressed in the E. Coil strain BL21 (DE3) (pLysS) as an n-terminal His6/Xpress epitope tagged bind protein. Then using Ni2+ Agarose affinity chromatography to obtain purification of the crude extract. Then observe under the long wavelength UV light, the activity of the rGFP in the column fraction. Bradford assay was performed to obtain the total protein amount. When calculating the

Green Fluorescent Protein, produced by the bioluminescent jellyfish Aequorea victoria, is a protein that fluoresces green under ultraviolet light. Since its discovery, properties of the protein have been improved by mutations in the gene resulting in the expansion of its spectrum, which now contains brighter variants and multiple different colors. GFP is used in a wide variety of applications and technologies. Its many different applications have contributed greatly, and continue to do so, in numerous fields of study including, but not limited to, cellular and molecular biology, microbiology, biotechnology, and medicine.

Ben Cauley raised his trumpet to his lips to play like he did so many times before at the corner of College and East McLemore in South Memphis. Only this time, Cauley wasn’t inside of the Stax Records building, the place where he recorded on dozens of hits by Otis Redding, the Bar-Kays, and Carla Thomas. He was outside the building about to perform on the street. For this occasion he wasn’t adding funky horn lines to a soul classic, but was instead about to play one of his saddest songs, solo, and Cauley knew sadness. On December 8, 1967, he survived a plane crash that killed Otis Redding, his bandmates in the Bar-Kays, and the pilot. He was the sole survivor. But on this December morning, Cauley played “Taps,” a simple song that signifies the end; the end of the day or the end of a life. For on this day, a valiant effort to stop the South Side Church of God in Christ from tearing down the Stax Records and Studio, a few inches from where Cauley was about to perform, came to an end. It also marked the end of the building that once housed one of the largest and most successful independent labels in history, but the building represented so much more. Without consciously knowing it,

Dr. Cater G. Woodson, a son of a slave, was born in New Canton, Virginia on December 19, 1875 (Bellis, n.d.). Although he did not enter high school until the age of 20, he continued to study at Berea College, the University of Chicago, the Sorbonne, and Harvard University, where he earned a PhD in 1912 (Bellis, n.d.). During this time,

How does the addition of pGLO plasmid to a solution containing E. coli bacteria affect the growth and characteristics of the bacteria? Genetic transformation is the incorporation of foreign DNA into an organism to potentially change the organism’s trait. Plasmids are small circular DNA that replicate separately from the bacterial chromosome. In nature, these plasmids can be transferred between bacteria allowing for the sharing of beneficial genes. Due to this characteristic, plasmids allow for genetic manipulation and can be moved between bacteria easily. The pGLO plasmid utilized in this experiment encodes the gene for Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), which under the right conditions can produce a glow. The gene regulation system present in the pGLO plasmid requires

The pGLO plasmid will transform the E. coli bacteria with a gene called GFP that codes for the Green Fluorescent Protein in the genetic code. GFP was discovered in the jellyfish, Aequorea victoria as a green fluorescent light emitted from the jellyfish. It was typically seen in the dark upon its activation and since then has been used in studies relating to genetic transformation. (Chalfie and Tu 1994) The majority of the studies test the many different factors that are required in the transformation of pGLO which will determine the functionality of GFP in the E.coli bacterium. The first experiment in transforming GFP and E. coli was completed in 1994 by Chalfie and was further refined the same year. The experiment proved the importance of using restriction enzymes, and DNA ligase in the process of transforming GFP to identify arabinose as the primary activator, and to identify the ampicillin

George Beadle was a very known and interesting biologist that helped the advancement of genetic science. He won the noble prize for his works, and was recognized as a very successful geneticist. His plan was to mutate nerve spores, and his success didn’t come until the 299th culture. His perseverance and dedication to science led him to advancement in genetic science. George Beadle lived a long and successful life.

The goal of this experiment was to investigate genetic transformation of E.coli through the reaction of organism to the vector pGLO plasmid. As mentioned, the pGLO plasmid contains genes coding for resistance to ampicillin (amp), and genes coding for production of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) which glows under UV light in the presence of arabinose (ara),which serves as a reporter gene. This green fluorescent

Introduction: Transformation is used to introduce a gene coding for a foreign protein into bacteria. Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC) is used to purify the foreign protein. Protein gel electrophoresis is used to check and analyze the pure protein. Research scientists use Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) as a master or tag to learn about the biology of individual cells and multicultural organisms. This lab introduces a rapid method to purify recombinant GFP using HIC. Once the protein is purified, it may be analyzed using polysaccharide gel electrophoresis (PAGE).

Robert Cialdini and his colleagues (1976) introduced and formalized the social psychological phenomenon called basking in reflected glory (BIRG), recognizing how individuals tend to increase their identification with a person or group—with whom they share a preexisting ingroup identity—when the latter has succeeded in an endeavor that brings group pride. Social identity theory is typically invoked to explain how the phenomenon is manifested through ingroup affiliation and self-enhancement. Though BIRG as a phenomenon has been found to be replicable across cultures, its determinants and manifestations nonetheless vary cross-culturally. Through the current literature review that aims to integrate the results of previous studies, it is found that the noninstrumental nature of ingroup identification and the increase in association with a successful other are cross-culturally similar. However, the construal of social identity and the achievements that become a source of ingroup pride are significantly determined by a country’s historical and economic milieu, while the characteristics of self-enhancement (on both ascribed group and self-esteem) are informed by the values and expectations set forth by the culture to which basking individuals belong.