microbiology
Heat shock and electroporation concepts
How to separate a failed heat shock from a failed electroporation when a cloning-strain transformation returns an empty plate.
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
Topic cluster
Microbiology
Bacterial culture, transformation and plating for cloning strains, with selection logic and biosafety boundaries.
All topicsBuffers and laboratory water26Cell culture26Chromatography26Cold chain and sample storage26Cytometry and microscopy26DNA sequencing26Gels and blotting26Gene expression26Genome editing26Immunoassays26Laboratory labware26Laboratory safety26Liquid handling26Microbiology26Molecular cloning26Nucleic acid purification26PCR and amplification26Protein biochemistry26Proteomics26Research sourcing and study design26
cold chainbiosafetyenquiryglossarytroubleshootingcloningmicrobiologycontaminationcontrolsautoclaveexpressionaseptic techniqueplatestransformationcontainmentenzymesantibioticscolonies
26 articles
microbiology
Incubator temperature and shaking speed
Routine E. coli cloning cultures are shaken near 37 Celsius so the broth stays aerated. This comparison separates that shaker from a plate incubator and from a
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
microbiology
Induction temperature and inclusion bodies
Inclusion bodies are insoluble aggregates from overexpression. A cooler induction can leave more protein soluble, and a gel of soluble and pellet fractions
8 October 2026 · 10 min read
microbiology
LB and other media as carbon and salt
What tryptone, yeast extract and salt actually supply in LB, and how SOB, SOC and defined media change cloning-strain growth.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
microbiology
Marking plates so a negative control stays negative
A negative-control plate that grows colonies means the label, the drug, or the DNA was wrong. Write the antibiotic and the date on the base so lids cannot swap
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
microbiology
Phage contamination as a concept
Bacteriophage contamination makes many cloning strains fail together and lingers on surfaces. This guide covers how to recognise the pattern and when to stop.
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
microbiology
Plasmid stability in a liquid culture
What segregational stability means in liquid culture, and why a cloudy cloning-strain flask can still give you no plasmid.
8 October 2026 · 7 min read
microbiology
Questions before an enzyme or media enquiry
A useful enzyme or media enquiry names the strain, the recognition or recipe class, the antibiotic, and the documents you need. This page is that checklist.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
microbiology
Satellite colonies around a large colony
Why tiny colonies ring a large one on ampicillin, and how that halo differs from kanamycin plates poured for cloning strains.
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
microbiology
Sterile technique for cloning strains
How aseptic handling of non-pathogenic E. coli cloning strains keeps dust, loops and open lids from turning a plate into a mixed culture.
8 October 2026 · 11 min read
microbiology
Streaking for single colonies
A streak dilutes cells across agar until a sector holds colonies that each grew from one cell. This glossary names the pattern, the loop, and a smear.
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
microbiology
Troubleshooting a lawn of colonies
A lawn on selective agar usually means the antibiotic failed or far too many cells were plated. Separate those causes before you treat the plate as a success.
8 October 2026 · 10 min read