Molecular Techniques (SLE321) Practical Report Section Mark

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Molecular Techniques (SLE321) Practical Report Section Mark

INTRODUCTION and AIM (1 page max) -What is yZnt? -Clear aims and/or objectives o Overall aim(s) o Brief description of techniques used (1-2 sentences) o Here we…. ? PCR ? Ligate linear plasmid & PCR fragment ? Transform into E. coli ? Confirm by Taq pol. screen (colonies) and Southern blot (gel). -Hypothesis and expected outcomes o Expected band sizes in gels o Blue/white screening result o Expected bands in Southern blot /15 MATERIALS and METHODS (2 pages max) -Appropriate use of headings (Some of the headings in the lab manual can be appropriated) -Clear and concise descriptions of changes or alterations made to methods -Outline the methods used in paragraph form – not as the recipe format in the lab manual. Two scientific papers have been provided as examples (Heras et al, 2009) o PCR & visualization of product o Mini-prep o RE digest & AP treatment o Gel purification o Ligation o Heat-shock transformation o Southern blot o PCR colony screen There should be sufficient detail for another scientist to repeat the experiment. As you see from the papers, research scientists tend to write abbreviated methods when standard practices are employed. This is very field-specific. Your supervisor will be able to guide you when you publish your own research. As the prac write-up is a learning exercise, it is better to err on the side of too much rather than too little detail. /10 RESULTS (2 pages max) -Clear and concise description of results achieved with reference to methods. -Appropriate use of figures and figure legends o Gels should be clearly labeled (MWM, lanes, band sizes) o Photos of blue/white screen plates are not necessary o Use line diagrams where appropriate. o Interpretation of gel pictures and Southern membrane /25 DISCUSSION (1-2 pages) -Describe the purpose of the methods used to achieve the outcomes of the project. -Clear explanations when problems or errors were encountered with experiments…