The fluorescent proteins emit a light signal in response to an excitation light , allowing the visualization of proteins in living cells . If the genetic sequence encoding a fluorescent protein is inserted in the gene encoding a protein of interest , the cell then produces a protein of interest be identified by the specific fluorescent signal it emits. The fluorescent proteins used today are derived from living organisms.

The team Gerd Ulrich Nienhaus Centre DFG Functional Nanostructures ( CFN) of KIT , in collaboration with scientists from the universities of Ulm ( Baden -Württemberg ) , Southampton ( United Kingdom) and Illinois ( United States) , has developed a new fluorescent protein ” mIrisFP ” with properties very innovative . The protein is characterized by the combination of two modules photoreactive activation : an irreversible conversion from green to red and the ability to enable and disable the fluorescence reversibly . According to Professor Niehaus , these properties mIrisFP are particularly suitable for applications in life sciences . The protein provides images of cells with a spatial resolution of 20-30 nanometers . In the article of Nature Methods, the scientists explain how they use mIrisFP to observe the molecular mechanisms during the movement of human cancer cells . They describe how such proteins are removed mIrisFP marked by a certain region of the cell to appear later in other structures of the cell .

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[1] ” A photoactivatable marker protein for pulse -chase imaging with superresolution , ” Fuchs , Boehme , Oswald , Hedde , Krause , Wiedenmann & Nienhaus – Nature Methods online – 07.04.2010 – http://dx.doi.org/_10.1038/nmeth.1477

Source :

Press the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology – 05/07/2010 – http://idw-online.de/pages/de/news377763