Solution

Alternative selectable markers have been developed which differentiate recombinants from the non-recombinants on the basis of their ability to produce colour in the presence of a chromogenic substrate. In this, a recombinant DNA is inserted within the coding sequence of an enzyme, ( -galactosidase. This results into inactivation of the enzyme, which is referred i to as insertional inactivation. The presence of a chromogenic j substrate gives blue coloured colonies if the plasmid in the bacteria does not have an insert. Presence of insert results into insertional inactivation of the -galactosidase and the colonies do not produce any colour, these are identified as recombinant colonies.