Biology · Principles and Processes in Biotechnology

What is the critical role of the 'origin of replication' (\( \text{ori} \)) sequence when an alien piece of DNA is introduced into a host organism?

1. It encodes antibiotic resistance proteins to kill non-transformants
2. It is responsible for initiating replication so that the alien DNA can replicate and multiply in the host organism
3. It acts as molecular scissors to cleave vector DNA at specific palindromic sites
4. It joins the sticky ends of foreign DNA and vector DNA covalently