The chloramphenicol-resistant pUC plasmids pHSG396 and pHSG398 contain the chloramphenicol resistance gene, the pMB1-derived origin of replication (ori), and the beta-galactosidase coding gene lacZ. These plasmids also contain a pUC18-derived multiple cloning site (MCS) within the lacZ gene, enabling recombinant clones to be verified through culture plates containing IPTG and X-Gal. High target-gene expression is enabled by the presence of the lac promoter on both the pHSG396 and pHSG398 plasmids.