Classification of plasmid vectors using replication origin, selection marker and promoter as criteria.
Although plasmid DNA vectors have been extensively applied in biotechnology, there is still a lack of standard plasmid vector classification. Here, we propose a classification method for commonly used plasmid vectors. Plasmid vectors were classified into different classes based on their replication origin, selection marker and promoter information. The replication origins of plasmid vectors were classified as: prokaryotic replication origin, eukaryotic replication origin and viral replication origin. Selection markers of plasmid vectors were mainly classified as ampicillin, kanamycin, neomycin, chloramphenicol, gentamycin, tetracycline, erythromycin, streptomycin, vancomycin and spectinomycin resistance gene markers. Promoter sequences were also classified as prokaryotic, eukaryotic and viral promoters. Finally, the nomenclature of common plasmid vectors has three determinants. We believe that the classification of plasmid vectors can provide useful information for researchers employing molecular cloning procedures. A web service of the plasmid classification was established and it is available from http://www.computationalmedicalbiology.org/plasclas.aspx.
CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, PR China. zjwang@picb.ac.cn
Zhijun
Z
Wang
Li
L
Jin
Zhenghong
Z
Yuan
Grzegorz
G
Wegrzyn
Alicja
A
Wegrzyn
D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D010957:Plasmids / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D018741:Replication Origin / Q000235:genetics
D005819:Genetic Markers