What is bacterial plasmid?
A bacterial plasmid is usually a circular (sometimes linear) piece of double-stranded DNA found in bacteria that is distinct from the bacterium’s chromosome. It carries non-essential genes that can augment a bacterium’s ability to survive in certain circumstances. For example, some plasmid carry genes that enable a bacterium to metabolize a certain type of nutrient it otherwise can’t, other plasmids carry genes that enable a bacterium to conjugate (transfer DNA to another bacterium), and still other plasmids carry genes that confer antibiotic resistance. Due to the small size and versatility of plasmids and the ease of operating with bacteria, plasmids have become a central part of research and biotechnology where plasmids are used for a vast variety of experiment from expressing human genes in bacterial cells to DNA sequencing.
