Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

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.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Lessons from Structural Biology for Understanding Drug Resistance in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST).

Journal of medicinal chemistry·2026

Same author

Extrusion of BMP2+ surface colonocytes promotes stromal remodeling and tissue regeneration.

Nature communications·2025

Same author

Highly potent quinoxalinediones inhibit α-hemolysin and ameliorate Staphylococcus aureus lung infections.

Cell host & microbe·2025

Same author

AcrVIB1 inhibits CRISPR-Cas13b immunity by promoting unproductive crRNA binding accessible to RNase attack.

Molecular cell·2025

Same author

Reverse mutational scanning of SARS-CoV-2 spike BA.2.86 identifies epitopes contributing to immune escape from polyclonal sera.

Nature communications·2025

Same author

A novel method for recombinant mammalian-expressed S-HBsAg virus-like particle production for assembly status analysis and improved anti-HBs serology.

Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Transient Expression and Cellular Localization of Recombinant Proteins in Cultured Insect Cells

Transient Expression and Cellular Localization of Recombinant Proteins in Cultured Insect Cells

Published on: April 20, 2017

Fast plasmid based protein expression analysis in insect cells using an automated SplitGFP screen.

Maren Bleckmann¹, Stefan Schmelz², Christian Schinkowski¹

¹Recombinant Protein Expression, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstrasse 7, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.

Biotechnology and Bioengineering

|February 26, 2016

Summary

This study introduces an automated Split Green Fluorescent Protein (Split GFP) screening method for insect cells, significantly reducing time and cost in identifying optimal protein expression constructs for biotechnology applications.

Keywords:

Biolector Hi5 cells SplitGFP high throughput screen insect cells protein expression screen

More Related Videos

A Comparative Analysis of Recombinant Protein Expression in Different Biofactories: Bacteria, Insect Cells and Plant Systems

A Comparative Analysis of Recombinant Protein Expression in Different Biofactories: Bacteria, Insect Cells and Plant Systems

Published on: March 23, 2015

Green Fluorescent Protein-based Expression Screening of Membrane Proteins in Escherichia coli

Green Fluorescent Protein-based Expression Screening of Membrane Proteins in Escherichia coli

Published on: January 6, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Transient Expression and Cellular Localization of Recombinant Proteins in Cultured Insect Cells

Transient Expression and Cellular Localization of Recombinant Proteins in Cultured Insect Cells

Published on: April 20, 2017

A Comparative Analysis of Recombinant Protein Expression in Different Biofactories: Bacteria, Insect Cells and Plant Systems

A Comparative Analysis of Recombinant Protein Expression in Different Biofactories: Bacteria, Insect Cells and Plant Systems

Published on: March 23, 2015

Green Fluorescent Protein-based Expression Screening of Membrane Proteins in Escherichia coli

Green Fluorescent Protein-based Expression Screening of Membrane Proteins in Escherichia coli

Published on: January 6, 2015

Area of Science:

Biotechnology
Molecular Biology
Protein Expression Systems

Background:

Recombinant protein production is crucial for biotechnology but faces challenges with difficult-to-express proteins.
Traditional screening methods in prokaryotic systems are often inadequate for multi-domain or full-length proteins.
Mammalian proteins requiring post-translational modifications necessitate alternative hosts like insect cells (Baculovirus Expression Vector System - BEVS), which is time- and cost-intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop an automated, miniaturized, and high-throughput screening method for initial protein expression analysis.
To enable efficient generation and screening of protein expression constructs in insect cells.
To validate the system using the challenging Nucleotide-binding Oligomerization Domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2).

Main Methods:

Utilized an automated Microcultivation system combined with rapid plasmid-based transient transfection in insect cells.
Implemented a sensitive Split Green Fluorescent Protein (Split GFP) detection system for monitoring expression.
Measured fluorescence directly within the BioLector Microcultivation system to assess construct success.

Main Results:

Demonstrated the system's applicability for expressing the difficult-to-express NOD2 protein.
Showcased the sensitive Split GFP system's ability to detect even weak plasmid-based expression.
Confirmed a direct correlation between the Split GFP screen results and the soluble protein levels obtained via BEVS.

Conclusions:

The automated Split GFP screen offers a sensitive, fast, and reliable method for identifying optimal protein expression constructs.
This approach significantly reduces the time and costs associated with preliminary screening before large-scale protein production.
The method streamlines the process for producing proteins, particularly those requiring insect cell expression systems.