File:Transgenesis picture.gif

English: The procedure to generate transgenic insects by germ-line transformation is depicted. (I) Insect eggs are microinjected with a donor plasmid, expressing a transgene (in orange) and a reporter gene (in green), and with a helper plasmid, expressing a transposase (purple). (II) After inoculation into the eggs, plasmids are taken up by some (or all) of the germ lines. (III) Transformed larvae can be distinguished from non-transformed due to the expression of the reporter gene (green eye phenotype), which can be controlled by an eye specific promoter. (IV) Transformed insects are crossed with wild type specimens so as to confirm that the transposon-carrying transgene was inserted into the insect chromosome. (V) Transgenic adult insects expressing the transgene (e.g., orange proteins in the insect midgut) are depicted (2).