recombinant DNA, a DNA molecule in which rearrangement of the genes has been experimentally induced. Enzymes are used to break isolated DNA molecules into fragments that are then rearranged in the desired sequence. DNA sequences from another organism of the same or a different species may also be introduced into the molecule, which is then replicated, resulting in both genotypic and phenotypic alterations in the organism that carries the recombinant DNA. See also genetic engineering.
