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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.

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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Author Spotlight: Unraveling Bacterial Responses to Antibiotics and Immune System in Tissues

Author Spotlight: Unraveling Bacterial Responses to Antibiotics and Immune System in Tissues

Published on: March 1, 2024

Tracking bacterial pathogens with genetically-encoded reporters.

F-X Campbell-Valois¹, Philippe J Sansonetti²

¹Institut Pasteur, Unité de Pathogénie Microbienne Moléculaire, 25-28 rue du Docteur-Roux, 75724 Paris, France; INSERM, U786, 75015 Paris, France.

|May 27, 2014

Summary

This review explores methods for studying bacterial adaptation in situ during infection. It highlights how new technologies like fluorescent reporters help track bacterial responses to host environments.

Keywords:

Bacterial pathogenesis Bacterial secretion systems Environment-sensing by bacteria Host–pathogen interaction Protein–protein/RNA/DNA interaction assays Transcription

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A Fluorescence-based Method to Study Bacterial Gene Regulation in Infected Tissues

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Published on: February 19, 2019

Area of Science:

Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Bacterial Pathogenesis
Host-Pathogen Interactions

Background:

Bacterial pathogens face dynamic host environments during infection, including nutrient changes and immune challenges.
Adapting to these conditions is crucial for bacterial survival and disease progression.
Studying bacterial adaptation in situ is essential for understanding infectious processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To provide a historical perspective and technical details on methods for studying bacterial adaptation in situ.
To review recent advancements in reporter technologies for in situ analysis.
To discuss studies on bacterial adaptation in Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens.

Main Methods:

Development and application of genetically encoded transcriptional reporters.
Utilizing fluorescent proteins, assays, and luciferases for single-cell and whole-body imaging.
Designing protein-protein interaction and secretion detection assays for in situ studies.

Main Results:

Technological advancements enable real-time monitoring of bacterial adaptation within host environments.
Reporter systems allow for single-cell resolution and whole-body imaging of bacterial responses.
Recent studies demonstrate diverse adaptation strategies of pathogens to host conditions.

Conclusions:

In situ methods, particularly those using reporter technologies, are powerful tools for studying bacterial adaptation.
These methods facilitate a deeper understanding of pathogen survival and virulence mechanisms.
The described techniques are adaptable for studying microbial communities in diverse settings.