Ectopic expression
Encyclopedia
Ectopic expression is the expression of a gene
in an abnormal place in an organism. This can be caused by a disease, or it can be artificially produced as a way to help determine what the function of that gene is.
Ectopic expression of a gene can be done by introducing a transgene
with a modified promoter into the target organism (transient or stable transfection) or by using the Gal4-UAS
system. Ectopic expression is used to gain further understanding of the gene's functions.
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
in an abnormal place in an organism. This can be caused by a disease, or it can be artificially produced as a way to help determine what the function of that gene is.
Ectopic expression of a gene can be done by introducing a transgene
Transgene
A transgene is a gene or genetic material that has been transferred naturally or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques from one organism to another....
with a modified promoter into the target organism (transient or stable transfection) or by using the Gal4-UAS
GAL4/UAS system
The GAL4-UAS system is a biochemical method used to study gene expression and function in organisms such as the fruit fly. It was developed by Andrea Brand and Norbert Perrimon in 1993 and is considered a powerful technique for studying the expression of genes...
system. Ectopic expression is used to gain further understanding of the gene's functions.