Final answer:
Blue-white screening is a technique used in molecular biology to select bacteria that have taken up a plasmid with an inserted DNA fragment. White colonies are chosen for further study as they indicate successful insertion of foreign DNA within the plasmid, disrupting the lacZ gene.
Step-by-step explanation:
In molecular biology, the process of plating bacteria on an ampicillin/β-galactosidase media after inserting a plasmid into competent cells is known as blue-white screening.
This technique is used to identify bacteria that have taken up a plasmid with an inserted DNA fragment.
White colonies are selected for further study because they indicate successful insertion of foreign DNA within the plasmid vector, disrupting the lacZ gene which leads to the lack of a functional β-galactosidase enzyme.
The complete question is: Following insertion of a plasmid into competent cells, and plating of the cells on an ampicillin/β-galactosidase media, a researcher would select white colonies for additional study. Justify!