From Luc and Phot genes to the hospital bed.

The Luc gene from the firefly Photinus pyralis has been isolated by cloning it in pcDV1 PL plasmid primer and Honjo linker and the Phot gene isolated from Aequorea victoria using the polymerase chain reaction. A method has been established using SP6 RNA polymerase for transcribing and translating bioluminescent genes in vitro. It should now be possible to engineer these genes to measure intracellular ATP and the covalent modification of proteins in single, live cells, providing unique insights into the molecular basis of disease.