Prophenoloxidase as a Reporter of Gene Expression in Drosophila

Abstract

We have developed a novel reporter for the analysis of gene expression using a Drosophilaprophenoloxidase (proPO) gene. We have expressed proPO in transgenic flies using the GAL4-UAS system and characterized ectopic expression in imaginal discs. proPO staining is fast and robust, requiring only inexpensive reagents, and performs similarly to β-galactosidase (β-gal) staining. Double staining using UAS-proPO and β-gal reporters is straightforward and provides a convenient method for examining the expression of two genes simultaneously.