Green fluorescent protein-like proteins in reef Anthozoa animals.
Green fluorescent protein (GFP) from the bioluminescent jellyfish Aequorea victoria has become an important tool in molecular and cellular biology as a transcriptional reporter, fusion tag, and biosensor. Most significantly, it encodes a chromophore intrinsically within its protein sequence, obviating the need for external substrates or cofactors and enabling the genetic encoding of strong fluorescence. Mutagenesis studies have generated GFP variants with new colors, improved fluorescence and other biochemical properties. In parallel, GFPs and GFP-like molecules have been cloned from other organisms, including the bioluminescent sea pansy Renilla reniformis and other non-bioluminescent Anthozoa animals. In the jellyfish and sea pansy, the GFPs are coupled to their chemoluminescence. Instead of emitting the blue light generated by aequorin and luciferase, the GFPs absorb their energy of primary emission and emit green light, which travels farther in the sea. In contrast, GFP-like proteins in reef Anthozoa are thought to play a role in photoprotection of their symbiotic zooxanthellae in shallow water; they transform absorbed UV radiation contained in sunlight into longer fluorescence wavelengths (Salih, A., Larkum, A., Cox, G., Kuhl, M., and Hoegh-Guldberg, O. 2000. Nature, 408: 850-853). In this review, I will describe both the biological and practical aspects of Anthozoan GFP-like proteins, many of which will be greatly improved in utility and commercially available before long. The ubiquity of these molecular tools makes it important to appreciate the interplay between sunlight and GFP-like proteins of Anthozoan animals, and to consider the optimal use of these unique proteins in biological studies.
Miyawaki
Atsushi
A
Laboratory for Cell Function Dynamics, Advanced Technology Development Center, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Saitama, Japan. matsushi@brain.riken.go.jp
D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D015202:Protein Engineering; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein
D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein; C413663:fluorescent protein 583