Dual-Luciferase or Dual-Glo Luciferase Assay System? Which one should I choose for my reporter assays?

Confused woman

I’ve got a set of experiments planned that, if all goes well, will provide me with the answer I have been seeking for months. Plus, my supervisor is eagerly awaiting the results because she needs the data for a grant application, so I don’t want to mess it up. However, I am faced with a choice for my firefly and Renilla luciferase reporter assays: Do I use the Dual-Luciferase® Reporter Assay System or Dual-Glo® Luciferase Assay System? What’s the difference? How do I decide which to use? I’m so confused! Help!

Sound familiar? Not to worry! The choice is not difficult once you know how these assays work and how they differ.

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From Drug Screening to Agriculture to Cardiac Development, A Dual-Luciferase Reporter Brings You the Story

Today’s blog was written by guest blogger Katarzyna Dubiel, marketing intern in Cellular Analysis and Proteomics. Last updated 02/12/2021

Reporter gene assays have been critical for the study of a wide-range of biological questions, from regulation of gene expression to cellular signaling. While reporter gene assays constitute a large group of technologies, here we highlight the diversity of new discoveries enabled by highly quantitative and easily measured bioluminescent luciferase-based reporter assays. Below are our top picks of exciting research discoveries involving the Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay format using firefly and Renilla luciferases.

Continue reading “From Drug Screening to Agriculture to Cardiac Development, A Dual-Luciferase Reporter Brings You the Story”

Choosing Primary and Control Reporters for Dual-Luciferase Assays

Dual-Reporter Assays give scientists the ability to simultaneously measure two reporter enzymes within a single sample. In dual assays, the activity of an experimental reporter is correlated with the effect of specific experimental conditions, while the activity of a control reporter relays the baseline response, providing an essential internal control that reduces variability caused by differences in cell viability or transfection efficiency. The Nano-Glo® Dual-Luciferase® Reporter (NanoDLR™) Assay provides a choice of two sensitive reporters (firefly and NanoLuc luciferases) for use in dual-assay format. Both reporters give state-of-the-art functionality, raising the question “Which luciferase should be the primary reporter and which should be the control?”

This infographic outlines the various NanoDLR dual-reporter assay choices and the situations where you would choose one format over another. Continue reading “Choosing Primary and Control Reporters for Dual-Luciferase Assays”