Bacterial ID lab questions

Bacterial ID Lab

Completing this virtual lab and answering the following questions helps meet Standard 3: Lab Skills.

First, go to:

http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/vlabs/bacterial_id/index.html or the iPad app

In this virtual lab you will assume the role of a lab technician in a modern molecular biology laboratory.  As such, you are responsible for providing lab results to medical doctors for use in diagnosing their patients.  Be sure to follow the steps of the procedure in order and to make use of the notes on the right side of the computer screen.  As you work through the lab, answer the following questions:

1. As the medical technician in charge of this investigation, what are you trying to determine about the tissue sample provided to you?

I am trying to determine whether or not the sequence contains a significant level of similarity to another known sequence.

2. How did you prepare the DNA to be used in this investigation?

I prepared the DNA to be used here with positive and negative reactions. The positive was the controlled reaction.

3. Describe how PCR is used to make copies of DNA sequences. Use the animation and notebook entries in the PCR Amplification step to guide your answer. Note that you may replay the animation as needed.

The PCR separates strands of DNA. The double stranded DNAs are undone by enzymes and pretty much have new functions. They serve as different templates.

4. Summarize the technique used to purify the PCR product.

When the PCR product is put into the gel, it can be cut out by using a centrifuge and microfiltering it all out!

5. What is produced during the sequencing prep PCR run? Use the animation and notebook as needed in thinking through your answer.

Copies are made, and that's how you are identified.

6. Describe how the automatic sequencer determines the sequences of the PCR products.

It is done several times (thousands) so that an accurate answer comes out.

7. What does BLAST stand for?

Basic Local Alignment Search Tool

8. What conclusions did you make using the results of the BLAST search?  Did these conclusions support a clinical diagnosis for the patient (what disease did they have)?
It's very easy to figure out what disease each of them had and the conclusions did support a clinical diagnosis. The diagnosis was bartonella henselae.