Blue Plants: Transgenic Plants with the GUS Reporter Gene

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Abstract:: An investigative laboratory developed for the introductory biology curriculum using transgenic plants is presented in this chapter. The transgenic Arabidopsis plants we use contain the GUS reporter gene under the control of the cor15a gene promoter, which responds to cold stress. Following induction by cold or other environmental signals, the gusA gene will respond by producing the enzyme beta-glucuronidase (GUS). When plant tissue is incubated with the chromogenic substrate X-gluc, those tissues that produce GUS turn blue. Using investigative experiments, students monitor both the physiological response of plants to these signals, as well as the induction of gene activity as reflected by GUS activity. The GUS assay is highly visible, safe for the undergraduate laboratory, easy to conduct, and relatively inexpensive. Blue Plants, developed at Purdue University with support from NSF-DUE grant #9354721, are one of the Research Link 2000 systems (http://www.researchlink.ferris.edu).

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