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Genomic DNA in Prokaryotes

Genomic DNA in Prokaryotes

The genome of most prokaryotic organisms consists of double-stranded DNA organized into one circular chromosome in a region of cytoplasm called the nucleoid. The chromosome is tightly wound, or supercoiled, for efficient storage. Prokaryotes also contain other circular pieces of DNA called plasmids. These plasmids are smaller than the chromosome and often carry genes that confer adaptive functions, such as antibiotic resistance.
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Prokaryotic Cells

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Replication in Prokaryotes

Replication in Prokaryotes

DNA replication has three main steps: initiation, elongation, and termination. Replication in prokaryotes begins when initiator proteins bind to the single origin of replication (ori) on the cell's circular chromosome. Replication then proceeds around the entire circle of the chromosome in each direction from the two replication forks, resulting in two DNA molecules.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 14, 2025

Monitoring Plasmid Replication in Live Mammalian Cells over Multiple Generations by Fluorescence Microscopy

Monitoring Plasmid Replication in Live Mammalian Cells over Multiple Generations by Fluorescence Microscopy

Published on: December 13, 2012

Self-documenting plasmids.

Sarah I Hernandez¹, Samuel J Peccoud², Casey-Tyler Berezin¹

¹Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.

Trends in Biotechnology

|May 8, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Self-documenting plasmids encode their own information within their DNA, simplifying verification. This biotechnology innovation enhances supply chain security and intellectual property protection in life sciences.

Keywords:

bioinformatics cryptography cyberbiosecurity digital signature plasmid reproducibility sequencing

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Monitoring Plasmid Replication in Live Mammalian Cells over Multiple Generations by Fluorescence Microscopy

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Area of Science:

Biotechnology
Molecular Biology
Synthetic Biology

Background:

Plasmids are essential DNA molecules in biotechnology for protein production and organism engineering.
Accurate plasmid verification is crucial but remains a significant challenge in research and development.
Current methods for plasmid identification can be complex and require prior knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a novel method for intrinsic plasmid verification.
To create self-documenting plasmids that contain their own sequence information.
To improve the security and reliability of plasmid usage in biotechnology.

Main Methods:

Engineered plasmids to encode self-referential information within their DNA sequences.
Demonstrated successful propagation of these plasmids in bacterial hosts.
Validated functional expression of encoded proteins in mammalian cells.

Main Results:

Developed self-documenting plasmids capable of encoding critical identification data.
Retrieval of plasmid information is possible without prior knowledge of the plasmid's identity.
Plasmid functionality (bacterial propagation, protein expression) is maintained with embedded documentation.

Conclusions:

Self-documenting plasmids offer a streamlined approach to plasmid verification.
This technology enhances the security of biotechnology supply chains.
The innovation has significant potential for transforming intellectual property protection in life sciences.