Advances in fluorescent protein technology.
Current fluorescent protein (FP) development strategies are focused on fine-tuning the photophysical properties of blue to yellow variants derived from the Aequorea victoria jellyfish green fluorescent protein (GFP) and on the development of monomeric FPs from other organisms that emit in the yellow-orange to far-red regions of the visible light spectrum. Progress toward these goals has been substantial, and near-infrared emitting FPs may loom over the horizon. The latest efforts in jellyfish variants have resulted in new and improved monomeric BFP, CFP, GFP and YFP variants, and the relentless search for a bright, monomeric and fast-maturing red FP has yielded a host of excellent candidates, although none is yet optimal for all applications. Meanwhile, photoactivatable FPs are emerging as a powerful class of probes for intracellular dynamics and, unexpectedly, as useful tools for the development of superresolution microscopy applications.
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. shaner@salk.edu
Nathan C
NC
Shaner
George H
GH
Patterson
Michael W
MW
Davidson
D000818:Animals; D036681:Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching / Q000379:methods; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / Q000379:methods; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D011487:Protein Conformation; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein
D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein; C485182:Cyan Fluorescent Protein; C409504:blue fluorescent protein, Aequorea victoria