A phagemid or phasmid is a DNA-based cloning vector, which has both bacteriophage and plasmid properties. These vectors carry, in addition to the origin of plasmid replication, an origin of replication derived from bacteriophage. Unlike commonly used plasmids, phagemid vectors differ by having the ability to be packaged into the capsid of a bacteriophage, due to their having a genetic sequence that signals for packaging. Phagemids are used in a variety of biotechnology applications; for example, they can be used in a molecular biology technique called "phage display".
The term "phagemid" or "phagemids" was coined by a group of Soviet scientists, who discovered them, named them, and published the article in April 1984 in Gene magazine.
Properties of the cloning vector
A phagemid (plasmid + phage) is a plasmid that contains an f1 origin of replication from an f1 phage. It can be used as a type of cloning vector in combination with filamentous phage M13. A phagemid can be replicated as a plasmid, and also be packaged as single stranded DNA in viral particles. Phagemids contain an origin of replication (ori) for double stranded replication, as well as an f1 ori to enable single stranded replication and packaging into phage particles. than the phagemid so that the resultant phage particles contain predominantly phagemid DNA. F1 Filamentous phage infection requires the presence of a pilus so only bacterial hosts containing the F-plasmid or its derivatives can be used to generate phage particles.
Prior to the development of cycle sequencing, phagemids were used to generate single stranded DNA template for sequencing purposes. Today phagemids are still useful for generating templates for site-directed mutagenesis. Detailed characterisation of the filamentous phage life cycle and structural features lead to the development of phage display technology, in which a range of peptides and proteins can be expressed as fusions to phage coat proteins and displayed on the viral surface. The displayed peptides and polypeptides are associated with the corresponding coding DNA within the phage particle and so this technique lends itself to the study of protein-protein interactions and other ligand/receptor combinations.