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A plasmid is an extra-chromosomal DNA molecule separate from the chromosomal DNA which is capable of replicating independently of the chromosomal DNA.[1] In many cases, it is circular and double-stranded. Plasmids usually occur naturally in bacteria, but are sometimes found in eukaryotic organisms (e.g., the 2-micrometre-ring in Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Plasmid size varies from 1 to over 1,000 kilobase pairs (kbp).[2][3][4] The number of identical plasmids within a single cell can range anywhere from one to even thousands under some circumstances. Plasmids can be considered to be part of the mobilome, since they are often associated with conjugation, a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer.

Plasmids used in genetic engineering are called vectors. Plasmids serve as important tools in genetics and biotechnology labs, where they are commonly used to multiply (make many copies of) or express particular genes.[2] Many plasmids are commercially available for such uses. The gene to be replicated is inserted into copies of a plasmid containing genes that make cells resistant to particular antibiotics and a multiple cloning site (MCS, or polylinker), which is a short region containing several commonly used restriction sites allowing the easy insertion of DNA fragments at this location. Next, the plasmids are inserted into bacteria by a process called transformation. Then, the bacteria are exposed to the particular antibiotics. Only bacteria which take up copies of the plasmid survive , since the plasmid makes them resistant. In particular, the protecting genes are expressed (used to make a protein) and the expressed protein breaks down the antibiotics. In this way the antibiotics act as a filter to select only the modified bacteria

Bacterial conjugation is often incorrectly regarded as the bacterial equivalent of sexual reproduction or mating. It is not actually sexual, as it does not involve the fusing of gametes and the creation of a zygote, nor is there equal exchange of genetic material. It is merely the transfer of genetic information from a donor cell to a recipient. In order to perform conjugation, one of the bacteria, the donor, must play host to a conjugative or mobilizable genetic element, most often a conjugative or mobilizable plasmid or transposon.[4][5] Most conjugative plasmids have systems ensuring that the recipient cell does not already contain a similar element. A transformed cell is known as a transconjugant.

Plasmid transformation In order to persist and be stably maintained in the cell, a plasmid DNA molecule must contain an origin of replication, which allows it to be replicated in the cell independently of the chromosome. Because transformation usually produces a mixture of rare transformed cells and abundant non-transformed cells, a method is needed to identify the cells that have acquired the plasmid. Plasmids used in transformation experiments will usually also contain a gene giving resistance to an antibiotic that the intended recipient strain of bacteria is sensitive to. Cells able to grow on media containing this antibiotic will have been transformed by the plasmid, as cells lacking the plasmid will be unable to grow. Another marker, used for identifying E. coli cells that have acquired recombinant plasmids, is the lacZ gene, which codes for β-galactosidase. Because β-galactosidase is a homo-tetramer, with each monomer made up of one lacZ-α and one lacZ-ω protein, if only one of the two requisite proteins is expressed in the resulting cell, no functional enzyme will be formed. Thus, if a strain of E. coli without lacZ-α in its genome is transformed using a plasmid containing the missing gene fragment, transformed cells will produce β-galactosidase, while untransformed cells will not, as they are only able to produce the omega half of the monomer. In this type of transformation, the polylinker region of the plasmid lies in the lacZ-α gene fragment, meaning that successfully produced recombinant plasmids will have the desired gene inserted somewhere within lacZ-α. When this disrupted gene fragment is expressed by E. coli, no usable lacZ-α protein is produced, and therefore no usable β-galactosidase is formed. When grown on media containing the colorless, modified galactose sugar X-gal, colonies that are able to metabolize the substrate (and that have therefore been transformed, but not by recombinant plasmids) will appear blue in color; colonies that are not able to metabolize the substrate (and that have therefore been transformed by recombinant plasmids) will appear white.

Cilium-related disease Ciliary defects can lead to a number of human diseases. Genetic mutations compromising the proper functioning of cilia, ciliopathies, can cause chronic disorders such as primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), nephronophthisis or Senior-Loken syndrome. In addition, a defect of the primary cilium in the renal tube cells can lead to polycystic kidney disease (PKD). In another genetic disorder called Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), the mutant gene products are the components in the basal body and cilia[4]. Lack of functional cilia in female Fallopian tubes can cause ectopic pregnancy. A fertilized ovum may not reach the uterus if the cilia are unable to move it there. In such a case, the ovum will implant in the Fallopian tubes, causing a tubal pregnancy, the most common form of ectopic pregnancy.[citation needed] Since the flagellum of human sperm is actually a modified cilium, ciliary dysfunction can also be responsible for male infertility.[8] Of interest, there is an association of primary ciliary dyskinesia with left-right anatomic abnormalities such as situs inversus (a combination of findings known as Kartagener's syndrome) and other heterotaxic defects. These left-right anatomic abnormalities can also result in congenital heart disease.[9] In fact, it has been shown that proper cilial function is responsible for the normal left-right asymmetry in mammals.[10]

In prokaryotes, however, mobile genetic elements that can move between genomes, like prophages and plasmids, are also an important part of the mobilome.