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Pocketing the difference

Nature (1999)Cite this article

The discovery of the green fluorescent protein, otherwise known as ?GFP?, from the Aequorea jellyfish has revolutionized research into the basic biology of cells. The ability of GFP to form a fluorescent light-absorbing mass in the absence of any additional factors, has spurred an extremely wide appliance of GFP as a genetically encoded marker and biosensor.

GFP is used to follow which genes are ?on? or ?off? - patterns of gene expression, in other words - in living cells or organisms. The fusion of GFP to other proteins allows researchers to monitor the whereabouts of those proteins as they travel through the cell. Clever modifications of GFP have allowed the development of blue, cyan and yellow derivatives, as well as probes that detect changes in pH or calcium levels inside the cell.

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References

  1. Baird,G.S., Zacharias, D.A. & Tsien, R.Y. Circular permutation and receptor insertion within green fluorescent proteins. PNAS 96, 11241 - 11246 9).(1999).

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  1. Barbara Marte
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Marte, B. Pocketing the difference. Nature (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/news991028-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/news991028-6

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