Toxin-antitoxin system

Patent Pending A toxin-antitoxin system is a set of two or more closely linked genes that together encode both a protein 'poison' and a corresponding 'antidote'. When these systems are contained on plasmids – transferable genetic elements – they ensure that only the daughter cells that inherit the plasmid survive after cell division. If the plasmid is absent in a daughter cell, the unstable anti-toxin is degraded and the stable toxic protein kills the new cell; this is known as 'post-segregational killing' (PSK).