In general, the word “cloning” means the creation of a perfect replica; however, in biology, the re-creation of a whole organism is referred to as “reproductive cloning.”

Long before attempts were made to clone an entire organism, researchers learned how to reproduce desired regions or fragments of the genome, a process that is referred to as molecular cloning.

Cloning small genome fragments allows researchers to manipulate and study-specific genes (and their protein products), or noncoding regions in isolation. A plasmid, or vector, is a small circular DNA molecule that replicates independently of the chromosomal DNA.

In cloning, scientists can use the plasmid molecules to provide a “folder” in which to insert the desired DNA fragment. Plasmids are usually introduced into a bacterial host for proliferation. In the bacterial context, scientists call the DNA fragment from the human genome (or the genome of another studied organism) foreign DNA, or a transgene, to differentiate it from the bacterium’s DNA, or the host DNA.