Patent No. 5,221,643 Use Of Bacterial Luciferase Structural Genes For Cloning And Monitoring Gene Expression In Microorganisms And For Tagging And Identification Of Genetically Engineered Organisms Issued: June 22, 1993 Inventor: Roman Legocki, Misuk Legocki, Aladar Szalay, all of Ithaca, NY; Thomas Baldwin, Bryan TX Assignee: Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Inc., Ithaca, NY Contact: Christopher Michaels, at Brown & Michaels, Ithaca (see below for address and phone number) - michaels@bpmlegal.com

A host microorganism is genetically and stably modified by the insertion into any of its non-essential chromosomal locations of a non- homologous, recombinant foreign DNA fragment, maintaining a lux AB gene of a selected bioluminescent bacterium, such as V. Harveyi such that the expression of the lux AB gene causes the production of a luciferase enzyme which, in turn, catalyzes a light-emitting reaction in the presence of aldehyde. Both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria are microorganisms which may be modified in this manner. X-ray film can be used to quantify the light being emitted from a microorganism through the use of plural droplets containing the same microorganism, each with a known and related cell (or plasmid) count.

Go Back for more representative patents.

Home || Intellectual Property || Patents || Trademarks || Copyrights

Brown & Michaels, PC
400 M & T Bank Building
118 North Tioga Street - The Commons
Ithaca, NY 14850
Phone: (607) 256-2000 · Fax: (607) 273-2609
e-mail: bpm@bpmlegal.com