Help:Plasmid backbones

Revision as of 20:54, 24 January 2008 by Rshetty (Talk | contribs)

PlasmidDNA.png

Plasmids are circular, double-stranded DNA molecules typically containing a few thousand base pairs that replicate within the cell independently of the chromosomal DNA. They are often acquired by bacteria and can bestow the benefit of antibiotic resistance or production of novel proteins. Plasmids can incorporate BioBrick devices and systems into cells via transformation.

  • [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformation_(genetics) Transformation]
  • Types of Plasmids - What's a construction plasmid? Does "plasmid" mean vector backbone only?
  • Plasmid features - Features of plasmid parts & their feature tables of plasmids mean
  • Plasmid Naming - Information about our naming conventions for BioBrick compatible vectors (like pSB1AC3).

Antibiotic Resistance

By incorporating an antibiotic-resistance gene on a plasmid, you can select for engineered cells using the appropriate antibiotic. The most commonly used antibiotics are ampicillin ("Amp"), kanamycin ("Kan"), tetracycline ("Tet") and chloramphenicol ("Cm"). For more information on which plasmids carry these resistance genes, click the nomenclature documentation section.

All of our plasmids are available through the use of BBa_P1010. (Information on how to use that part is available on its part page).

Update: A new set of low copy plasmids have been made. These are available through the use of BBa_I52001 and BBa_I52002.