Our Favorite
A lot of organisms are used in the lab to run experiments, but I have found that most biologists have taken a liking to a very particular bacterium.
If you have had any experience in a biology lab, you probably have an idea of which one I may be talking about.
Well, I am talking about Escherichia coli. E. coli is a huge asset to biology, and this week we are going to talk about what exactly it has helped us accomplish.
E. coli was the first organism to be genetically engineered. Stanley Cohen and Herb Boyer showed the world that it was possible to move genes from one organism to another. Prior to their collaboration Cohen had demonstrated that E. coli could take up a plasmid that conferred resistance to the antibiotic tetracycline. Then with Boyer, the scientists were able to cut this plasmid in a precise location and splice in another antibiotic resistant gene, and the vector was taken up by E.coli and the genes expressed. This discovery led to the field of genetic engineering.
The K-12 strain of E. coli is the one that helps us produce mass amounts of insulin for the human population that need it. E. coli is used for the production of many vaccines and medications.
When its complete genome was sequenced, its DNA was compared to others and we found that many genes were common in all living organisms, no matter big or small and this led to the exploration of those specific genes in search of the specific function.
All model organisms are great in their own little way, but I believe that E.coli deserves a special recognition from fellow scientists for its contribution to our studies.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC357561/
http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/40156.aspx
http://study.com/academy/lesson/escherichia-coli-e-coli-as-a-model-organism-or-host-cell.html
If you have had any experience in a biology lab, you probably have an idea of which one I may be talking about.
Well, I am talking about Escherichia coli. E. coli is a huge asset to biology, and this week we are going to talk about what exactly it has helped us accomplish.
E. coli was the first organism to be genetically engineered. Stanley Cohen and Herb Boyer showed the world that it was possible to move genes from one organism to another. Prior to their collaboration Cohen had demonstrated that E. coli could take up a plasmid that conferred resistance to the antibiotic tetracycline. Then with Boyer, the scientists were able to cut this plasmid in a precise location and splice in another antibiotic resistant gene, and the vector was taken up by E.coli and the genes expressed. This discovery led to the field of genetic engineering.
The K-12 strain of E. coli is the one that helps us produce mass amounts of insulin for the human population that need it. E. coli is used for the production of many vaccines and medications.
When its complete genome was sequenced, its DNA was compared to others and we found that many genes were common in all living organisms, no matter big or small and this led to the exploration of those specific genes in search of the specific function.
All model organisms are great in their own little way, but I believe that E.coli deserves a special recognition from fellow scientists for its contribution to our studies.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC357561/
http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/40156.aspx
http://study.com/academy/lesson/escherichia-coli-e-coli-as-a-model-organism-or-host-cell.html
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