|
Download
article
62kb
pdf? |
|
Firefly Luciferase as a Reporter for Plant Gene Expression Studies
Kenneth R. Luehrsen and Virginia Walbot
Department of Biological Sciences
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-5020
Reporter enzymes often are used to monitor gene expression. Several reporter gene
systems have been developed which differ in ease of use, cost, sensitivity, versatility
and safety. We have used luciferase from the North American firefly Photinus pyralis
extensively as a reporter in studies of plant gene expression. We found that luciferase
has several features that make it a particularly attractive reporter when compared to the
frequently used CAT, GUS and neo genes. In this article, we review some of these
characteristics and present expression plasmids and assay procedures optimized for use
with plant suspension culture cells.
|
