Biology 2581B Study Guide - Antimicrobial Resistance, Wild Type, Kanamycin A
3 Mar 2014
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In earlier research on mutations, we relied on mutants which either occurred spontaneously or were induced (random). In the present day, we would rather generate mutants with a specific mutation in a specific place, if possible. Early mutants are often morphological mutants, typically originating from spontaneous mutations. The problem with using early mutants is that their characteristic spontaneous morphological mutations occur too slowly and in too few individuals of the population. Thus it is necessary to utilize mutants other than morphological ones such as: mutants in biochemical pathways, mutants defined by subtle changes, mutants characterized by maturation time differences, etc. ). By inducing mutations, we can increase the frequency of mutants produced and create a larger variety of mutants in the process. A popular mutagen important for inducing mutations is the alkylating agent ethyl methanesulfonate (ems). Ems induces point mutations (base-pair substitutions) by transferring its ethyl group to a guanine nucleotide, forming o-6-ethylguanine.
