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The β-glucuronidase (GUS) enzyme from E. coli has been well documented
to provide desirable characteristics as a marker gene in transformed plants. The GUS reporter gene system
has many advantages including stable expression of E. coli GUS enzyme, no interference with normal plant
metabolism, and low intrinsic GUS activity in higher plants. The enzyme is also capable of tolerating
amino-terminal additions, making it useful for study of plant organelle transport. Various β-glucuronic
acid substrates are available for detection of GUS expression, all of which contain the sugar
D-glucopyranosiduronic acid attached by glycosidic linkage to a hydroxyl group of a chromogenic, fluorogenic,
or other detectable molecule. This allows for histochemical, fluorometric, and spectrophotometric
measurements of β-glucuronidase gene fusion expression.
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