Vector

How it is used

Used in cloning, protein production and gene therapy. Types include cloning vectors, expression vectors and viral vectors such as lentivirus and AAV. Researchers insert a gene into a vector and deliver the vector into cells. In epidemiology, a vector is instead an animal, like a mosquito, that spreads disease.

Example sentences

1. We cloned the gene into an expression vector with a His tag.

2. AAV is the most widely used viral vector for gene therapy in the eye.

Common collocations

• expression vector
• viral vector
• cloning vector
• empty vector
• vector backbone

Related terms

• plasmidA small, circular piece of DNA found naturally in bacteria and used in the lab as a tool to carry and copy genes inside cells.
• cloneTo make copies of a DNA fragment by inserting it into a vector and growing it in cells; also, to make a genetically identical copy of a cell or organism.
• gene therapyA medical treatment that adds, replaces, silences or corrects genetic material in a patient's cells to treat or prevent a disease.
• transfectionPutting DNA or RNA into animal or human cells in culture, usually with chemical reagents or an electric pulse, so that the cells express it or are changed by it.
• promoterA region of DNA just before a gene where RNA polymerase and transcription factors bind to start transcription.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• vector · Public Health & Epidemiology
• vector · Physics

More terms: Genetic Engineering and CRISPR

• CRISPR
• genetic engineering
• GMO
• guide RNA
• gene editing
• knockout
• restriction enzyme
• off-target effect