title: Natural animal coloration can Be determined by a nonfluorescent green fluorescent protein homolog.
abstract: It is generally accepted that the colors displayed by living organisms are determined by low molecular weight pigments or chromoproteins that require a prosthetic group. The exception to this rule is green fluorescent protein (GFP) from Aequorea victoria that forms a fluorophore by self-catalyzed protein backbone modification. Here we found a naturally nonfluorescent homolog of GFP to determine strong purple coloration of tentacles in the sea anemone Anemonia sulcata. Under certain conditions, this novel chromoprotein produces a trace amount of red fluorescence (emission lambda(max) = 595 nm). The fluorescence demonstrates unique behavior: its intensity increases in the presence of green light but is inhibited by blue light. The quantum yield of fluorescence can be enhanced dramatically by single amino acid replacement, which probably restores the ancestral fluorescent state of the protein. Other fluorescent variants of the novel protein have emission peaks that are red-shifted up to 610 nm. They demonstrate that long wavelength fluorescence is attainable in GFP-like fluorescent proteins.
authors.affiliation: Shemiakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Miklukho-Maklaya 16/10, 117871 Moscow, Russia. luk@ibch.siobc.ras.ru
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Lukyanov
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Fradkov
authors.forename: N G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Gurskaya
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Matz
authors.forename: Y A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Labas
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Savitsky
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Markelov
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Zaraisky
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Lukyanov
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli; D005453:Fluorescence; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D006200:Hair Color; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000378:metabolism; D012615:Sea Anemones; D012880:Skin Pigmentation
chemical_list: D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D011493:Protein Kinase C