Final answer:
A marker-matched plasmid includes features like a reporter gene for visual identification of DNA insertion and a selectable marker, typically an antibiotic resistance gene, which allows proliferation of cells containing the plasmid.
Step-by-step explanation:
A marker-matched plasmid is a plasmid used in molecular cloning that contains both a reporter gene that allows for the identification of successful insertions of foreign DNA and a selectable marker such as an antibiotic resistance gene. The polylinker site, often found within the reporter gene, contains multiple unique restriction enzyme recognition sites. The commonly used lacZ reporter gene encodes beta-galactosidase, which produces blue colonies on X-gal media; however, when foreign DNA is spliced into the plasmid's polylinker, disrupting the lacZ gene, white colonies result, indicating a successful cloning event.
In addition to reporter genes, the most important feature for selectable markers is antibiotic resistance. This allows only the bacterial cells that have taken up the recombinant plasmid, with such as ampicillin resistance, to grow in an environment containing the antibiotic. Thus, allowing researchers to identify the cells carrying the plasmid and proliferate them for further studies, such as producing proteins like insulin or studying specific genes.