Bacterial transformation

In recombinant DNA cloning, bacterial transformation is the critical process of providing the right conditions for a recombinant plasmid containing the gene of interest to be utilised by a bacterial cell. Once inside the bacterial 'host' cell, numerous copies of the desired gene and protein will be generated. As part of the cloning procedure, an antibiotic resistance gene is incorporated into the plasmid. As a result, only those bacteria that contain the plasmid will survive on an agar plate with antibiotics.