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Ok, now let's use genetic engineering to learn more about some important parts of the photosynthetic apparatus. Dr. Splicer has made three different mutants. He has grown each of these mutants and the normal bacteria in test tubes. Each tube has been inoculated with either normal bacteria (called wild type) or one of the mutant bacteria and grown in the light. The tubes contain a substance called agar which looks and feels like Jello. Each tube also contains food that the bacteria eat. To do this, he picked up some of the bacteria on a wire loop and pushed them into the agar. Since the agar is Jello-like, no air gets down into where the bacteria are. Because of this, they cannot get energy the way we do -- by using air (oxygen) to burn up food. They can only grow by photosynthesis. |
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Photosynthesis Center Arizona State University Box 871604 Room PSD 209 Tempe, AZ 85287-1604
09 February 2006 |
phone: (480) 965-1963 fax: (480) 965-2747 |