∞ generated and posted on 2016.02.16 ∞
Carrier of recombinant DNA that is capable of existing in two different species and thus can be easily moved between these two species.
| A Shuttle Vector is a means by which cloned DNA can be easily transferred (shuttled as a vector) between two different species, allowing genetic manipulation in association with one species and then utility in another. |
A vector within the context of biotechnology is a carrier of recombinant DNA from to inside the cell or cells of an organism. The role of the vector is to assure the survival and or utility of the cloned DNA, the latter such as in terms of gene expression (see, e.g., expression vector).
In recombinant DNA technology vectors typically consist either of viruses or plasmids which are either transduced or instead transformed into the target organism. Due to the relatively narrow host range of most viruses, shuttle vectors instead tend to be plasmids in at least one of the species they are cloned into.
Shuttle vectors typically are engineered to have this property of being able to shuttle DNA between species and their utility is to allow manipulation of the vector in relatively easy to work with organisms, e.g., Escherichia , and then to be transferred into less easily genetically manipulated organisms (e.g., a plant).