Expression analysis of Escherichia coli lacZ reporter gene in transgenic mice

Abstract

To define a gene expression mechanism, it is often advantageous to use a reporter gene and transgenic mouse. The lacZ reporter gene is particularly useful for studies of the cis-regulatory element for tissue-specific expression in transgenic mice because of the ease of the enzyme assay and visualization on sections. In this report, we describe our method for examining the cis-regulatory element in transgenic mice, including choice of the lacZ gene, generation of transgenic mice, and analysis of β-galactosidase activity. Themes: Cellular and molecular biology Topics: Staining, tracing, and imaging techniques