Evans, Justin; Murray, Cameron; Crowley, Bailey; Welker, Dennis; (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Welker, Dennis (College of Science, Biology Department)
In previous experiments, we explored the abilities of a set of newly derived vectors to transform Lactobacillus casei, specifically, the 32G and the A2-362 strains. We have now expanded our research to study the abilities of these vectors to transform additional Lactobacillus species, Lactobacillus paracasei strain LPC-37 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain HN001. The vectors were transformed into the cells by electroporation, after which the cells were given a 4-hour incubation to allow expression of the erythromycin resistance gene carried on the vectors. The cells were then plated to MRS agar containing erythromycin and incubated for 2-3 days until colonies appeared. The colonies were counted and the transformation efficiencies for each vector tabulated as colony forming units per _g of vector DNA. These studies help us to understand how effective the vectors are at transforming different species of lactic acid bacteria. We can also start to ask why some vectors performed better in some bacterial strains than they did in other strains.