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Choosing a Cloning Vector

  • Protocol
E. coli Plasmid Vectors

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology™ ((MIMB,volume 235))

Abstract

Since the construction of the first generation of general cloning vectors in the early 1970s, the number of plasmids created has increased to an almost countless number. Thus, a critical decision facing today’s investigator is that of which plasmid to use in a particular project? Despite the bewildering choice of commercial and other available vectors, the choice of which cloning vector to use can be decided by applying a small number of criteria: insert size, copy number, incompatibility, selectable marker, cloning sites, and specialized vector functions. Several of these criteria are dependent on each other. This chapter discusses these criteria in the context of choosing a plasmid for use as a cloning vector and Table 1 displays the features of some commonly used cloning vectors.

Table 1 Commonly Used Cloning Vectors
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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Andrew Preston

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  1. Andrew Preston
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of California at Berkeley, School of Public Health, Berkeley, CA

    Nicola Casali

  2. Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Andrew Preston

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© 2003 Humana Press Inc.

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Preston, A. (2003). Choosing a Cloning Vector. In: Casali, N., Preston, A. (eds) E. coli Plasmid Vectors. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 235. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-409-3:19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-409-3:19

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-151-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-409-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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