Description
Adeno-Associated Virus serotype 2 (AAV2) is the best characterized AAV serotype. Nearly all recombinant AAV serotypes utilize the AAV2 inverted terminal repeats (ITRs). AAV2 requires the expression of Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycan (HSPG) on the surface of host cells for binding and internalization. Of nearly all the discovered AAV serotypes, AAV2 has the best transduction efficiency in cell culture and is the best tool for in vitro studies. These AAV particles constitutively express the firefly (Photinus pyralis) luciferase and mCherry genes connected via a T2A linker, under the control of a CMV promoter. The T2A self-cleaving peptide (derived from Thosea asigna virus 2A) leads to the efficient cleavage of the transcript, and expression of luciferase and mCherry as two separate proteins