Reporter Gene Assays

Reporter gene assays are invaluable for studying the regulation of gene expression by cis- or trans-acting factors, or for measuring activation of cell signaling pathways. In these assays, the reporter gene acts as a surrogate for the coding region of the gene under study. The reporter gene construct contains one or more gene regulatory elements being analyzed, the structural sequence of the reporter gene, and the sequences required for the formation of functional mRNA. Following introduction of the reporter construct into cells and experimental treatment, expression levels of the reporter gene are monitored by quantitating the reporter protein enzymatic activity, which is used to characterize regulatory sequences, transcription factor activity, cell signaling, or signaling pathways.

The two functional parts of a gene include the coding region and the promoter region. The coding region is the DNA sequence that contains information about the protein that will be produced via transcriptional and translational mechanisms. The promoter region is the specific DNA sequence that regulates the transcription of the gene and can activate or repress the expression of the gene. 

Reporter gene assays are typically used to measure the regulatory ability of an unknown DNA-sequence. This is done by linking the unknown promoter sequence to an easily detectable reporter gene whose product can be easily detected and quantifiably measured.

Common reporter genes include beta-galactosidase, luciferase, beta-lactamase, alkaline phosphatase and GFP (green fluorescence protein). Luminescence, absorbance and fluorescence detection methods are used typically to measure expressed reporter gene protein. 

We offer antibodies, reagents, vectors, and kits for expressing and detecting a variety of reporter genes including luciferase, glycosidases, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), green fluorescent protein (GFP), β-lactamase, and β-gal, as well as Lumio™ and TC-FlAsH™ technology.