Electroporation: a microbiology technique in which an electrical field is applied to cells in order to increase the permeability of the cell membrane, allowing chemicals, drugs, or DNA to be introduced into the cell. In microbiology, the process of electroporation is often used to transform bacteria, yeast, or plant protoplasts by introducing new coding DNA. Electroporation is also highly efficient for the introduction of foreign genes into tissue culture cells, especially mammalian cells.