Reporter Gene

A reporter gene is coupled to a gene of interest to make its activity detectable

Reporter genes create gene products that are easily detectable and are non-toxic for the organism.

Reporter genes are most often visibly detectable by their colour (e.g. luciferase gene for a fluorescent dye). Sometimes marker genes enable a metabolic reaction that can result in a visible, coloured product (galactosidase gene for the degradation of milk sugar).

The GFP reporter gene is a commonly used gene, which encodes green fluorescent protein. GFP was taken from jellyfish.