title: Single-molecule tracking of mRNA in living cells.
abstract: Some mRNAs localize to specific regions within eukaryotic cells to express their functions. The movement and localization of mRNA molecules provides valuable information about how they concentrate to particular regions. Recent technical advances in optical microscopy and image analysis algorithms enable real-time tracking of single mRNA molecules in living cells. This chapter presents the methods to visualize and track single β-actin mRNA molecules that localize at the leading edge of chicken embryo fibroblasts. Furthermore, this chapter presents an analysis approach for single-molecule tracking data to extract quantitative information about the microenvironments of the mRNA molecules.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Immunogenomics, RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Mai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamagishi
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shirasaki
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Funatsu
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival; D058948:Cell Tracking / Q000379:methods*; D002642:Chick Embryo; D003199:Computer Systems; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005453:Fluorescence; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C485184:enhanced green fluorescent protein; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins