Vector (biology) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

In biology, the term vector may be used in different contexts:

Vector (epidemiology), an organism, often an invertebrate arthropod, that transmits a pathogen from reservoir to host
Vector (molecular biology)
Vector (molecular biology)
In molecular biology, a vector is a DNA molecule used as a vehicle to transfer foreign genetic material into another cell. The four major types of vectors are plasmids, viruses, cosmids, and artificial chromosomes...

, vehicle used to transfer genetic material to a target cell, such as:
- Plasmid vector
- Binary vector
  Binary vector
  A T-DNA binary system is a pair of plasmids consisting of a binary plasmid and a helper plasmid. The two plasmids are used together to produce genetically modified plants. They are artificial vectors that have both been created from the naturally occurring Ti plasmid found in Agrobacterium...
  
  , a cloning vector used to generate transgenic plants
- Cloning vector
  Cloning vector
  A cloning vector is a small piece of DNA into which a foreign DNA fragment can be inserted. The insertion of the fragment into the cloning vector is carried out by treating the vehicle and the foreign DNA with a restriction enzyme that creates the same overhang, then ligating the fragments...
- Expression vector
  Expression vector
  An expression vector, otherwise known as an expression construct, is generally a plasmid that is used to introduce a specific gene into a target cell. Once the expression vector is inside the cell, the protein that is encoded by the gene is produced by the cellular-transcription and translation...
  
  , a plasmid specifically used for protein expression in the target
- Shuttle vector
  Shuttle vector
  A shuttle vector is a vector constructed so that it can propagate in two different host species . Therefore, DNA inserted into a shuttle vector can be tested or manipulated in two different cell types. The main advantage of these vectors is they can be manipulated in E. coli then used in a...
  
  , a vector (usually a plasmid) constructed so that it can propagate in two different host species
- Viral vector
  Viral vector
  Viral vectors are a tool commonly used by molecular biologists to deliver genetic material into cells. This process can be performed inside a living organism or in cell culture . Viruses have evolved specialized molecular mechanisms to efficiently transport their genomes inside the cells they infect...
  
  , a virus modified to deliver foreign genetic material into a cell
Dispersal vector, an organism that carries and disperses reproductive structures (e.g., seeds, spores, or pollen) of a different species.
- Pollinator
  Pollinator
  A pollinator is the biotic agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain...
  
  , the biotic agent (vector) that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.