Essentials of Biotechnology 1: Lab Practical Study Guide
The biotechnology lab practical will be given as either the final exam for the course or a
summative exam at the end of the course depending on the year and the schedule. The lab
practical will cover content and lab practices covered throughout the course. In a typical year,
this includes chapters 1-5 protocols and all other labs conducted during the year. For example,
there will likely be questions covering C. elegans and the spectrophotometer. The following
information will provide some general guidelines as you prepare for the practical exam.
During the lab practical for Essentials of Biotechnology 1 students will need to know:
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How to follow laboratory protocol for research notebooks.
How to properly identify and use laboratory equipment.
How to use aseptic technique including the use of an autoclave
How to properly label reagents, chemicals and petri dishes.
How to prepare solutions and perform dilutions.
How to extract DNA from organisms and the purpose of various reagents and methodologies.
Explain the use of Sep-Pak C18 chromatography to separate pigments.
How to perform a titration.
How to identify bacteria from shape, appearance and Gram-staining techniques.
How to correctly streak a petri dish.
How to use the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test.
How to perform serial dilutions to quantify bacteria and calculate the CFU/ml from a serial dilution
Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure and organelles (including stem cells)
How to prepare various microbiology media.
How to apply Koch’s postulates.
How to stain eukaryotic cells.
The physiology of C. elegans and why they are a model system in science.
The basic methodology used in the brine shrimp lab including the basics of their reproductive cycle.
The structure and replication of DNA.
How to use a spectrophotometer to determine absorbance and transmittance.
How to use gel electrophoresis and PAGE in biotechnology.
How to stain and visualize gels for analysis.
The purpose and potential uses of RAPD and RFLPs.
How to read an autoradiogram.
How to use BLAST and NEBcutter.
How PCR works and some of its basic applications.
How restriction enzymes are named and mapped (e.g., EcoR1)
The importance of lambda DNA in RFLPs and other applications.
How to generate and read a standard curve to determine the sizes of unknown fragments.
Plasmid nomenclature, mapping and applications.
The function of transcriptional regulation and operons in prokaryotes.
The lab practical for Essentials of Biotechnology will be set-up like a lab, with stations throughout the classroom.
Students will not be permitted to enter the classroom prior to the start of the practical. Students will rotate through the
stations with no talking or interaction. Once students have visited each station once, they will be allowed to revisit select
stations a second time until the end of the class period.