The retinoic acid receptor (RAR) is a nuclear receptor that mediates the effects of retinoic acid and influences processes such as embryonic development, cell differentiation, immune system modulation, and apoptosis. The RAR luciferase reporter vector is designed to study the transcriptional activity of this receptor. The vector contains an RAR DNA consensus binding site and TA minimal promoter upstream of a firefly luciferase reporter gene, which can specifically report RAR activity while maintaining a low basal level of transcription.