Recombinant DNA is a segment of DNA that is produced by combining genetic material from at least two different species. Such new genetic combinations are of value to science, medicine, agriculture, and industry. Recombinant DNA technology was first developed in the 1970s.
The resulting copies are often referred to as recombinant DNA. Such work typically involves propagating the recombinant DNA in a bacterial or yeast cell, whose cellular machinery copies the engineered DNA along with its own.