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Reporter gene

In molecular biology, a reporter gene (often simply reporter) is a gene that researchers attach to another they wish to study in cell culture, animals or plants. Many of the techniques used for engineering a foreign or modifed gene into an organism work only in a very small percentage of individuals. Researchers use a reporter to easily identify those that have taken up the gene, or which have incorporated it in the desired way into their chromosomes. A common reporter is the gene that encodes jellyfish green fluorescent protein, which causes cells that express it to glow green under UV light.