[1] Therefore, DNA inserted into a shuttle vector can be tested or manipulated in two different cell types.
The main advantage of these vectors is they can be manipulated in E. coli, then used in a system which is more difficult or slower to use (e.g. yeast).
Shuttle vectors include plasmids that can propagate in eukaryotes and prokaryotes (e.g. both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli) or in different species of bacteria (e.g. both E. coli and Rhodococcus erythropolis).
Shuttle vectors are frequently used to quickly make multiple copies of the gene in E. coli (amplification).
The E. coli component of a yeast shuttle vector includes an origin of replication and a selectable marker, e.g. antibiotic resistance, beta lactamase, beta galactosidase.