A reporter gene is a type of gene that makes the expression product easy to detect. Its mechanism involves fusing the coding sequence of the reporter gene and its expression regulatory sequence with the target gene to form a chimeric gene. Under the influence of the regulatory sequence, the gene is expressed. By detecting the expression product of the reporter gene, the expression status of the target gene can be evaluated.
Common reporter genes include luciferase, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), β-galactosidase (β-gal), secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP), and green fluorescent protein (GFP), among others.
