bchs1b@jetson.uh.edu (10/03/90)
There is a procedure for the transformation of E. coli using PEG in the Current Protocols manual (I forgot the original reference) which supposedly gives nearly the same efficiency as CaCl2 but is somewhat simpler. We have tried this a few times in my lab and have gotten 0 tranformants while with the same cells and DNA using CaCl2 gotten our normal pretty high level of transformation. I am pretty baffled as to why a simple procedure absolutely failed to work in our hands. We tried making the solution up a few times using at least 2 different batches of chemicals. Has anyone successfully used this procedure? Was some important step left out? Are we being bozo's somehow? Although our lab has not crashed because of this, I certainly would like to know what is going on. Any comments or suggestions? Mike Benedik biochemical sciences university of houston benedik@uhou (bitnet) houston, TX 77204-5500 benedik@uh.edu