If a gene of interest is inserted into a plasmid, and the plasmid also has a lethal gene and an antibiotic resistance gene, to later identify those plasmids:

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The inserted gene must interrupt the lethal gene to ensure that only bacteria with the plasmid containing the gene of interest survive, as the lethal gene would otherwise kill the host cell. The antibiotic resistance gene is used to select for bacteria that have taken up the plasmid.

If a Gene of Interest Is Inserted into a Plasmid