Ved genetisk modifikation af planter og andre organismer anvendes der ofte markørgener for at gøre det lettere at udvælge og identificere genetisk modificerede celler, som indeholder interessegenet, der er indsat i værtsorganismens genom, blandt det store flertal af ikke-transformerede celler.
During the process of the genetic modification of plants and other organisms, marker genes are often used to facilitate the selection and identification of genetically modified cells, containing the gene of interest inserted into the genome of the host organism, among the vast majority of untransformed cells.