Question

Hi there!

Can someone answer my question please.

In which situation it is useful to have plasmids with antibiotic resistance genes?

Answer 1

Plasmids have been key to the development of molecular biotechnology. They act as delivery vehicles, or vectors, to introduce foreign DNA into bacteria. Decades after their first use, plasmids are still crucial laboratory tools in biotechnology.

​​​​Importance of plasmids with antibiotic resistance genes:

• Scientists can force bacteria to keep them : Virtually all plasmids that are used to deliver DNA contain genes for antibiotic resistance. Once bacteria have been treated with a plasmid, scientists grow them in the presence of an antibiotic. Only those cells that contain the plasmid will survive, grow and reproduce. The others will be killed by the antibiotic.
• They are copied independently: Plasmids can be copied numerous times, regardless of whether the bacterial host is replicating its own DNA, and every time a plasmid vector is replicated, so is the introduced DNA that it contains.
• They are circular: DNA that is circular is well suited to incorporate extra DNA sequences. That’s because it can be cut open without falling apart, then snap back together once new DNA has been incorporated.