Promoters and Reporters in Synthetic Biology

What Are Promoters and Reporters?

Promoters and reporters are genes used in engineering gene circuits. Promoters are DNA sequences located upstream of a gene; they provide binding sites for transcription factors and, eventually, RNA polymerase, allowing genes to be transcribed. If a promoter is being repressed, then transcription cannot occur as RNA polymerase will not have a place to bind.

Reporters are not as specific as promoters; they are genes that convey some easily-identifiable and measurable characteristic when they are transcribed, such as fluorescence or beta-galactoside proteins. Reporters are generally attached to other gene sequences so the scientist has a way of knowing if the gene is being transcribed - if the reporter is being transcribed, one can assume that the gene of interest is being transcribed as well.