Question

In regard to biotechnology application, what is the purpose of using a recombinant plasmid that encodes an ampicillin resistance gene? Choose one: O A. The product of the ampicillin gene is ampicillin, and the ampicillin confers better survival and more cell reproduction O B. Ampicillin is an antibiotic so this protects the researcher from infection. O C. This allows the researcher to use ampicillin in the culture and select for cells that acquired the plasmid. O D. This allows the researcher to use ampicillin in the culture and kill those cells that contain the plasmid.

Answer 1

Plasmids are the small circles of double-stranded DNA. They are used as vectors that can enter and replicate within many classes of bacterial cells, independently of the bacterial chromosomes.

The origin of replication in the plasmid enables it to replicate independently inside a bacterium. The gene for antibiotic resistance provides the host cell the ability to survive in a medium containing a specific antibiotic such as ampicillin.

This resistance enables the researcher to select for propagation only those cells that contain the recombinant plasmid. Antibiotic resistance genes and other vector genes that make it possible to select cells having a particular DNA molecule are known as selectable markers.

The presence of an ampicillin resistance gene serves as a selectable marker. The cells which have obtained the recombinant plasmid will gain resistance to the antibiotic and can grow on the medium containing ampicillin. The cells without recombinant plasmid cannot survive on the antibiotic media.

Therefore, the correct answer is option C. that is “recombinant plasmid allows the researcher to use ampicillin in the culture and select for cells that acquired the plasmid.”