Plasmid
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /ˈplazmɪd/
Origin
From plasma + -id, coined 1952 by American molecular biologist Joshua Lederberg.
Full definition of plasmid
Noun
plasmid
(plural plasmids)- (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.