Final answer:
In a transformation experiment where the foreign genomic DNA was degraded, but the plasmid was intact, you would expect to see blue colonies only, indicating the presence of non-recombinant plasmids.
Step-by-step explanation:
If there are no colonies on a plate after a transformation experiment, it could indicate various issues. In this scenario, where the foreign genomic DNA was left out and degraded while the plasmid was intact, one might expect to see results consistent with the use of undamaged DNA and plasmid. Typically, the presence of blue and white colonies indicates successful cloning events with the white colonies representing successful incorporation of the foreign DNA segment into the plasmid, given a proper reporter system such as the lacZ alpha-complementation system.
However, in this case, the genomic DNA was degraded, and thus, the bacteria will not take it up efficiently, leading to a predominance of blue colonies, which indicates non-recombinant plasmids. So, from the options provided, there will be blue colonies only on the bacterial plate, as the intact plasmid which has not incorporated any foreign (and thus degraded) DNA would express the lacZ gene (if the lacZ alpha-complementation system is being used), resulting in blue colonies after substrate addition.