Bacterial techniques refer to methods used in microbiology to study and manipulate bacteria. These techniques include culturing bacteria on agar plates, performing streak plating to isolate colonies, and using liquid media for growth. Scientists also employ techniques like Gram staining to classify bacteria based on their cell wall properties, which helps in identifying different bacterial species. Another important aspect of bacterial techniques is genetic manipulation, such as cloning and transformation. This involves inserting foreign DNA into bacterial cells, allowing researchers to produce proteins or study gene function. Techniques like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are also used to amplify specific DNA sequences for further analysis.