title: Red-shifted Renilla reniformis luciferase variants for imaging in living subjects.
abstract: The use of R. reniformis luciferase (RLuc) as a reporter gene in small-animal imaging has been hampered by its 481 nm peaked emission spectrum, as blue wavelengths are strongly attenuated in biological tissues. To overcome this, we generated variants of RLuc with bathochromic (red) shifts of up to 66 nm (547 nm peak) that also had greater stability and higher light emission than native RLuc.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford, Departments of Radiology and Bioengineering, Bio-X Program, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Andreas Markus
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Loening
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Sanjiv Sam
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Gambhir
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D049410:Luciferases, Renilla / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D049449:Luminescence; D051379:Mice; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D048790:Renilla / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D049410:Luciferases, Renilla