Question

What has to done to a bacterium in order to increase its chances of taking in plasmids from it environment

Answer 1

To increase our chances of getting our recombinant plasmids into bacterial cells, we will use “competent” cells. When cells are “competent,” it means that they are ready to receive plasmids. For the most part, you don't find competent cells in nature; instead, cells have to be made competent in the laboratory.