Bioluminescence is a special form of chemiluminescence found in
living organisms. This class of chemiluminescence is an enzyme-
catalyzed process, where the high efficiency of photon emission
is derived through natural evolution. The enzymes are called
luciferases, and the photon-emitting substrates are luciferins.
Bioluminescent chemistries have evolved from multiple
independent origins and comprise many distinct molecular
structures. Of the many natural forms, two have been used widely
for genetic reporter assays: firefly luciferase and Renilla
luciferase(1) Genetic reporters are used widely as indicators to
study gene expression and cellular events coupled to gene
expression for pharmaceutical and biomedical research and in
molecular biology and biochemistry. Typically, a reporter gene
is cloned with a DNA sequence of interest into an expression
vector that is then transferred into cells. Following transfer,
the cells are assayed for the presence of the reporter by
directly measuring the reporter protein it