English

Plasmids

Noun

plasmid ‎(plural plasmids)

1. (cytology) A loop of double-stranded DNA that is separate from and replicates independently of the chromosomes, most commonly found in bacteria, but also in archaeans and eukaryotic cells, and used in genetic engineering as a vector for gene transfer.
   • 1995, Christopher Howe, Gene Cloning and Manipulation, page 144:

     This is how the F (for "fertility") plasmid, which forms the basis of a lot of classical E. coli genetics, is transferred from one cell to another.

   • 1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial 2004, p. 247:

     Bacteria are happy to absorb little rings of DNA called plasmids and adopt them as their own.

   • 2004, Karl Friehs, Plasmid Copy Number and Plasmid Stability, M. Beyer, T. Scheper (editors), New Trends and Developments in Biochemical Engineering, Volume 86, page 47:

     Plasmids have an essential impact on productivity. Related factors are plasmid copy number, structural plasmid stability and segregational plasmid stability.

Translations

See also

• plasm
• plasma
• plasmoid
• replicon