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Choosing the Right Bug
A buyers' guide to competent cells
The Scientist 2004, 18(6):37
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The true workhorses of molecular biology are neither fruit flies nor nematodes, neither budding yeast nor mice. No, the diminutive Escherichia coli has to get that accolade. These bacteria take up foreign DNA in the form of a plasmid or viral vector and make it their own. After thus transforming themselves, they churn out enough copies of the nucleic acid for scientists to collect the material for use in subsequent experiments.
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