Electroporation of MycobacteriaRenan Goude 1, Tanya Parish 1,2
1Center for Infectious Disease, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, 2Institute for Cell and Molecular Science, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry
Mycobacterial pathogenic strategies remain poorly understood. The slow growth rate of most species, the impenetrable nature of the cell-wall, and the hazards of working with pathogens make mycobacteria difficult to study and are largely responsible for our poor understanding of these organisms. In this video we will demonstrate the technique of electroporation, which involves subjecting cells to a brief high electrical impulse to allow the entry of DNA. It is the most widely used method for introducing DNA into mycobacterial cells.