Plasmid:A small, circular piece of DNA located in the cytoplasm of many bacteria that can replicate independently of the chromosomes.
Competent Cells: Bacterial cells that are able to take up naked DNA. This ability may be natural or induced by laboratory procedures.
Genetic Recombination: The process by which a strand of genetic material (usually DNA; but can also be RNA) is broken and then joined to a different DNA molecule.