Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
In recombinant DNA work, only a few host cells take up the vector. These are called transformants.
We need a way to separate the transformants from non-transformants.
Step 2: The role of a selectable marker:
A gene such as an antibiotic resistance gene (for example ampicillin resistance) sits on the vector.
Only transformed cells express it, so only they survive on a medium with that antibiotic. This is a selectable marker.
Step 3: Why other options are wrong:
A plasmid is the whole vector, not a single gene, so (A) is wrong.
A structural gene codes for a protein product, but it does not identify transformants, so (B) is wrong.
An intron is a non-coding part of a eukaryotic gene that is removed from mRNA, so (D) is wrong.
Final Answer:
The gene whose expression identifies transformants is a selectable marker, option (C).