Vector (molecular biology)

For other uses, see Vector.

In molecular cloning, a vector is any particle (e.g., plasmids, cosmids, Lambda phages) used as a vehicle to artificially carry a foreign nucleic sequence – usually DNA – into another cell, where it can be replicated and/or expressed.[1] A vector containing foreign DNA is termed recombinant DNA. The four major types of vectors are plasmids, viral vectors, cosmids, and artificial chromosomes. Of these, the most commonly used vectors are plasmids.[2] Common to all engineered vectors are an origin of replication, a multicloning site, and a selectable marker.

The vector itself generally carries a DNA sequence that consists of an insert (in this case the transgene) and a larger sequence that serves as the "backbone" of the vector. The purpose of a vector which transfers genetic information to another cell is typically to isolate, multiply, or express the insert in the target cell. All vectors may be used for cloning and are therefore cloning vectors, but there are also vectors designed specially for cloning, while others may be designed specifically for other purposes, such as transcription and protein expression. Vectors designed specifically for the expression of the transgene in the target cell are called expression vectors, and generally have a promoter sequence that drives expression of the transgene. Simpler vectors called transcription vectors are only capable of being transcribed but not translated: they can be replicated in a target cell but not expressed, unlike expression vectors. Transcription vectors are used to amplify their insert.

The manipulation of DNA is normally conducted on E. coli vectors, which contain elements necessary for their maintenance in E. coli. However, vectors may also have elements that allow them to be maintained in another organism such as yeast, plant or mammalian cells, and these vectors are called shuttle vectors. Such vectors have bacterial or viral elements which may be transferred to the non-bacterial host organism, however other vectors termed intragenic vectors have also been developed to avoid the transfer of any genetic material from an alien species.[3]

Insertion of a vector into the target cell is usually called transformation for bacterial cells,[4] transfection for eukaryotic cells,[5] although insertion of a viral vector is often called transduction.[6]

  1. ^ "Vector". Genome.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  2. ^ Lodish H, Berk A, Zipursky SL, Matsudaira P, Baltimore D, Darnell J (2000). "DNA Cloning with Plasmid Vectors". Molecular Cell Biology (4th ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman. Archived from the original on 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  3. ^ Acquaah G (16 August 2012). Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding. John Wiley & Sons Inc. ISBN 978-1-118-31369-5.
  4. ^ Johnston C, Martin B, Fichant G, Polard P, Claverys JP (March 2014). "Bacterial transformation: distribution, shared mechanisms and divergent control". Nature Reviews. Microbiology. 12 (3): 181–96. doi:10.1038/nrmicro3199. PMID 24509783. S2CID 23559881.
  5. ^ "MeSH Browser". meshb.nlm.nih.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  6. ^ Hartl DL, Jones EW (1998). Genetics: principles and analysis (4th ed.). Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7637-0489-6. OCLC 45730915.