Plasmid publishes original research on genetic elements in all kingdoms of life with emphasis on maintenance, transmission and evolution of extrachromosomal elements. Objects of interest include plasmids, bacteriophages, mobile genetic elements, organelle DNA, and genomic and pathogenicity islands. Plasmid welcomes topics such as horizontal gene transfer, including antibiotic resistance transfer, and molecular aspects of microbial ecology. It also welcomes applications of plasmid biology to biotechnology and medicine, and of bioinformatics for studies of genomes. The journal is a bi-monthly that publishes full articles, short communications and reviews.

質粒發表關于所有生命王國的遺傳元素的原始研究，強調染色體外元素的維持、傳播和進化。感興趣的對象包括質粒、噬菌體、可移動遺傳元素、細胞器DNA以及基因組和致病性島。質粒歡迎水平基因轉移，包括抗生素耐藥性轉移和微生物生態學分子方面的話題。它還歡迎質粒生物學在生物技術和醫學上的應用，以及生物信息學在基因組研究中的應用。該雜志是一個雙月刊，刊登完整的文章，簡短的交流和評論。