Question

1. A reporter gene is an experimentally engineered regulatory DNA sequence from a gene of interest that has been fused to a gene that encodes a protein that is easily observed experimentally. Why is this approach useful?

   	a.	It provides information on the binding interactions of the gene product.
   	b.	It provides information into where and when a gene is expressed.
   	c.	It can provide information as to where a gene is expressed.
   	d.	It can provide information as to when a gene is expressed.

Answer 1

b. It provides information into where and when a gene is expressed

Explanation:

Here the researchers will attach a gene to the regulatory region of our gene of interest. The attaching gene is called as the reporter gene, which will have some identifiable character, for example, Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), which upon translation gives a Green fluorescence. So when the GFP gene is attached to the regulatory region of an unknown gene, when translation happens the GFP also gets translated, and thus the location and time of unknown gene expression can be understood.