How do I know if I should use a selection gene?

Including a selection gene can help easily and quickly generate a population of high reporter gene-expressing cells. In most cases, therefore, using a selection gene is beneficial. However, selection genes are immunogenic, which can cause potential tumor rejection in immunocompetent mice. For more information about whether or not to use a selection gene, read our Science Talk blog post “Unnatural selection: using antibiotic selection genes with reporter-expressing eukaryotic cells.”