Building inducible expression plasmids (aka Science)

Below is a video I've been trying to publish for a long time coming this summer, but because my summer project only came to a close this week, I've been hesitant to post anything.



In this video, I give an update on my lab work and discuss my overall lab project, which is a great review for myself and my viewers. This is an exciting time for me at Clark University, because I’m beginning the real stages of becoming a graduate student in our accelerated Master’s program. After conducting undergraduate research, I’m using it to support a 5th year of schooling at Clark to finish up my Master’s.

My project concerns the 3’ UTR of the nitrogen-assimilating genes nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase in diatoms (if you haven't read up on my blog before), because we have evidence that along this region these genes are up- and down-regulated by environmental conditions. To test this hypothesis, I’ve created plasmids that drive expression of a reporter gene (GFP) with promoter and terminator regions derived from diatom genes. We’ll compare the activity of GFP with differing 3’ UTR elements to determine whether this region of the nitrogen-assimilating genes is crucial in their regulation.

For the gene nitrate reductase, this is old news. But it is news for my blog that I've completed the plasmids for nitrite reductase, which is really the story of my video.

I'm really excited to be where I am in my project. This week, I hope to genetically transform my diatoms with the plasmids I've created. Oh baby Darwin, this could be a HUGE week for me and my scientific career! I'll be back soon with transformation news.