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Reporter Genes

Reporter Genes

Reporter genes are a type of protein-coding gene that are often tagged to a gene of interest. Once inside a target cell, reporter genes usually produce visually identifiable characteristics like fluorescence and luminescence when expressed along with the gene of interest. Thus, reporter genes “report” the presence or absence of genes of interest in an organism, determine the gene expression pattern, or track the physical location of a DNA segment or protein in the cell.
Commonly used reporter...

Labeling DNA Probes

Labeling DNA Probes

DNA probes are fragments of DNA labeled with a reporter tag to enable their detection or purification. The resulting labeled DNA probes can then hybridize to target nucleic acid sequences through complementary base-pairing, and may be used to recover or identify these regions.
Radioisotopes, fluorophores, or small molecule binding partners like biotin or digoxigenin, are the most widely used reporter tags for labeling DNA probes. These labels can be attached to the probe DNA molecule via...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Radionuclide-fluorescence Reporter Gene Imaging to Track Tumor Progression in Rodent Tumor Models

Radionuclide-fluorescence Reporter Gene Imaging to Track Tumor Progression in Rodent Tumor Models

Published on: March 13, 2018

Molecular imaging with activatable reporter systems.

Gang Niu¹, Xiaoyuan Chen

¹Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA.

|April 28, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Molecular imaging uses reporter genes to visualize biological processes. Activatable reporter imaging, a key advancement, enhances understanding of protein interactions and aids drug development.

Keywords:

Molecular imaging PET activatable optical imaging reporter gene

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Area of Science:

Biomedical imaging
Molecular biology
Genetics

Background:

Molecular imaging visualizes biological processes at cellular and molecular levels.
Reporter genes encode easily detectable proteins, enabling visualization of gene expression and protein dynamics.
Existing classifications of reporter genes are reviewed and regrouped.

Purpose of the Study:

To review and reclassify reporter gene-based imaging techniques.
To focus on activatable reporters for advanced molecular imaging applications.
To summarize applications of activatable reporters in biomedical research and drug development.

Main Methods:

Review of reporter gene classifications.
Regrouping reporter gene imaging into basic, inducible, and activatable categories.
Focus on post-translational activation mechanisms for reporter proteins.

Main Results:

Reporter gene imaging is categorized based on transcriptional regulation and post-translational modification.
Activatable reporters enable visualization of protein-protein interactions, phosphorylation, and structural changes.
Diverse applications of activatable reporters are summarized.

Conclusions:

Activatable reporter imaging offers significant benefits for basic biomedical research.
This advanced imaging modality is valuable for drug development and discovery.
The field of molecular imaging continues to advance with novel reporter systems.