The most versatile reporter gene is the firefly luciferase. Recently there is steadily increasing use of other luciferases, such as Gaussia luciferase since these reporters are smaller and do not require the presence of ATP. Gaussia luciferase is a 20 kD protein which catalyzes coelenterazine oxidation by oxygen to produce light. The bioluminescent enzyme derived from the marine copepod Gaussia princeps is efficiently secreted from mammalian cells upon expression.

AAT Bioquest's Amplite^® Gaussia Luciferase Reporter Gene Assay Kits use a proprietary luminogenic formulation to quantify luciferase activity in cell medium. The formulation generates a luminescent product that gives strong luminescence upon interaction with Gaussia luciferase. The kits provide all the essential components that are compatible with HTS liquid handling instruments. They have high sensitivity and can be performed in a convenient 96-well and 384-well microtiter-plate format. The "glow-type" signal with a half-life of one hour provides a consistent signal across large number of assay plates. The assay is compatible with standard cell growth media.