Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE) Lab Practice Test

Independent replication means the plasmid carries its own origin of replication and can duplicate on its own inside the cell. This allows a single cell to contain many copies of the recombinant plasmid, increasing the gene dosage of the recombinant gene. With more copies available as templates, transcription can produce more mRNA and, consequently, more protein product, often boosting overall yield. While high copy numbers can sometimes slow growth due to metabolic burden, the direct consequence addressed here is the higher product yield from having multiple plasmid copies. The other options don’t reflect this effect: transcription isn’t inherently prevented by plasmids, plasmids don’t automatically change shape from replication, and the question specifically ties copy number to production output rather than growth rate or structure.