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Fluorescent proteins from the oceans: marine macromolecules as advanced imaging tools for biomedical research

Fluorescent proteins from the oceans: marine macromolecules as advanced imaging tools for biomedical research
Fluorescent proteins from the oceans: marine macromolecules as advanced imaging tools for biomedical research


Fluorescent proteins (FPs) of the green fluorescent protein (GFP)-like protein family are not only responsible for the spectacular colors of some reef corals, but they can be also found in several other marine invertebrate taxa. The chromophore of these proteins resides in the center of an 11-stranded ?-barrel and is formed by autocatalytic reactions in the presence of oxygen. In some proteins, photochemical reactions are involved in the maturation of the chromophore. The variability of the chromophore structures and the interactions with the surrounding protein scaffold are responsible for the diverse emission colors, ranging from cyan to green and yellow to red. FPs develop their fluorescence also upon expression in recombinant cells which allows their use as genetically encoded markers. Application examples include the labeling of cells, cellular compartment or proteins, studies of gene activity, and sensor studies. Recently, photoactivatable FPs enabled live-cell imaging with a resolution beyond the diffraction barrier of optical microscopy. Nevertheless, before their potential as advanced markers can be fully exploited, FPs often need to undergo extensive protein engineering to alter some detrimental properties such as the tendency to form stable multimers.
978-90-481-3833-3
1231-1257
Springer
Smith, Edward G.
bc4bde94-8c86-46c3-8c1c-9fe8c72fb43e
D’Angelo, Cecilia
0d35b03b-684d-43aa-a57a-87212ab07ee1
Oswald, Franz
a5b02f2d-8439-411b-b5ad-999629cee58f
Nienhaus, G. Ulrich
64eb2ac6-4fa9-416c-a066-f096d79307cb
Wiedenmann, Jörg
ad445af2-680f-4927-90b3-589ac9d538f7
Fattorusso, E.
Gerwick, W.E.
Taglialatela-Scafati, O.
Smith, Edward G.
bc4bde94-8c86-46c3-8c1c-9fe8c72fb43e
D’Angelo, Cecilia
0d35b03b-684d-43aa-a57a-87212ab07ee1
Oswald, Franz
a5b02f2d-8439-411b-b5ad-999629cee58f
Nienhaus, G. Ulrich
64eb2ac6-4fa9-416c-a066-f096d79307cb
Wiedenmann, Jörg
ad445af2-680f-4927-90b3-589ac9d538f7
Fattorusso, E.
Gerwick, W.E.
Taglialatela-Scafati, O.

Smith, Edward G., D’Angelo, Cecilia, Oswald, Franz, Nienhaus, G. Ulrich and Wiedenmann, Jörg (2012) Fluorescent proteins from the oceans: marine macromolecules as advanced imaging tools for biomedical research. In, Fattorusso, E., Gerwick, W.E. and Taglialatela-Scafati, O. (eds.) Handbook of marine natural products. Dordrecht, NL. Springer, pp. 1231-1257. (doi:10.1007/978-90-481-3834-0_24).

Record type: Book Section

Abstract



Fluorescent proteins (FPs) of the green fluorescent protein (GFP)-like protein family are not only responsible for the spectacular colors of some reef corals, but they can be also found in several other marine invertebrate taxa. The chromophore of these proteins resides in the center of an 11-stranded ?-barrel and is formed by autocatalytic reactions in the presence of oxygen. In some proteins, photochemical reactions are involved in the maturation of the chromophore. The variability of the chromophore structures and the interactions with the surrounding protein scaffold are responsible for the diverse emission colors, ranging from cyan to green and yellow to red. FPs develop their fluorescence also upon expression in recombinant cells which allows their use as genetically encoded markers. Application examples include the labeling of cells, cellular compartment or proteins, studies of gene activity, and sensor studies. Recently, photoactivatable FPs enabled live-cell imaging with a resolution beyond the diffraction barrier of optical microscopy. Nevertheless, before their potential as advanced markers can be fully exploited, FPs often need to undergo extensive protein engineering to alter some detrimental properties such as the tendency to form stable multimers.

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Published date: 2012
Organisations: Ocean and Earth Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 377019
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/377019
ISBN: 978-90-481-3833-3
PURE UUID: 0c945ee9-9079-4424-a968-d58869fa5824
ORCID for Jörg Wiedenmann: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2128-2943

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 13 May 2015 10:32
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:28

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Contributors

Author: Edward G. Smith
Author: Franz Oswald
Author: G. Ulrich Nienhaus
Editor: E. Fattorusso
Editor: W.E. Gerwick
Editor: O. Taglialatela-Scafati

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