P r e f a c e to t h e S e c o n d E d i t i o n

Since publication of the first edition in 1990, Biotechnology" A Labo-

ratory Course has been used for laboratory courses at undergraduate
and graduate levels in many colleges and universities in the United
States and has been translated into Chinese.
The objectives of this manual are unchanged. We have attempted
to create a text that consists of a series of laboratory exercises provid-
ing a continuum of experiments. We begin with basic techniques and
culminate in the utilization of previously acquired technical experi-
ence and experimental material. Two organisms (Saccharomyces cere-
visiae and Escherichia coli) a single plasmid (pRY121) and a single
enzyme (B-galactosidase) are the experimental material, yet the proce-
dures and principles demonstrated are widely applicable to other
systems.
The second edition differs from the first in many ways.
Exercises 1 through 6 have been consolidated and streamlined.
New procedures are used for large-scale plasmid isolation, yeast
transformation, and DNA quantitation. New exercises have been
introduced for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), for detecting/3-
galactosidase in yeast colonies, for shuttling plasmids from S.
cerevisiae to E. coli, and for detecting proteins on blots by antibod-
ies. The Glossary has been amended and several new Appendixes
have been added. For example, a new Appendix contains a list
of World Wide Web addresses enabling students and instructors
to access valuable information on the biological sciences on the
Internet. All of the remaining Exercises and Appendixes have been
completely revised to incorporate suggestions from students and
instructors, and the references at the end of each exercise have
been expanded, updated, and annotated.

xiii
xiv Preface to the Second Edition

We trust that this new edition will continue to serve as an aid

to the establishment or instruction of laboratory courses in biotech-
nology and molecular biology.

Jeffrey M. Becker
Guy A. Caldwell
Eve Ann Zachgo