A rapidly maturing far-red derivative of DsRed-Express2 for whole-cell labeling.
Fluorescent proteins (FPs) with far-red excitation and emission are desirable for multicolor labeling and live-animal imaging. We describe E2-Crimson, a far-red derivative of the tetrameric FP DsRed-Express2. Unlike other far-red FPs, E2-Crimson is noncytotoxic in bacterial and mammalian cells. E2-Crimson is brighter than other far-red FPs and matures substantially faster than other red and far-red FPs. Approximately 40% of the E2-Crimson fluorescence signal is remarkably photostable. With an excitation maximum at 611 nm, E2-Crimson is the first FP that is efficiently excited with standard far-red lasers. We show that E2-Crimson has unique applications for flow cytometry and stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy.
Strack
Rita L
RL
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, 929 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Hein
Birka
B
Bhattacharyya
Dibyendu
D
Hell
Stefan W
SW
Keenan
Robert J
RJ
Glick
Benjamin S
BS
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D022082:Cellular Structures; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D036641:Microscopy, Fluorescence, Multiphoton; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein
D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein; C413663:fluorescent protein 583