I remembered how to do my own lab work this week. It was so nice to sit in lab and pipette, without students interrupting and asking questions, without having to run off to a meeting, and with all of the equipment and reagents I needed. I was productive!
I successfully troubleshooted some RACE PCRs that we need for some summer fieldwork. Yeah.
And I did my first Western Blot. Now, at this point one might think that I should have already done a Western. But alas, I came into molecular biology from, well, ecology, so I skipped the requisite western done in a molecular biology teaching lab. Besides, I can detect changes in gene expression using RT-qPCR, whole mount in situ hybridizations, fluorescent and histochemical immunostains. Why use more techniques?
In this case, the answer is because the antibodies aren't good enough for immunostaining in cells, tissues or the organism. So, I got to learn Westerns. And the best part is that, though preliminary, it looks like I was able to knock down a gene in corals! Fabulous... now to be able to repeat it!
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