mBeRFP, an improved large stokes shift red fluorescent protein.

Abstract

Herein, we describe the generation of a monomeric large Stokes shift (LSS) red fluorescent protein, mBeRFP, with excitation and emission peaks at 446 and 615 nm, respectively. Compared with two previously reported LSS-RFPs (mKeima and LSS-mKate2), mBeRFP is approximately three times brighter. In addition, mBeRFP is characterized by improved photostability, rapid maturation, an extended lifetime, and a monomeric nature. Additionally, mBeRFP can be paired with the Alexa 647 dye as a FRET donor to detect caspase 3 activity. This FRET pair has an extremely dynamic range and a large Förster radius (approximately 6.5 nm). To demonstrate the applicability of mBeRFP for imaging in living cells, we performed dual-color imaging of mBeRFP and CFP simultaneously excited by a single excitation source, and we demonstrated that these fluorescent proteins allow the clear visualization of the dynamics of Bax during cancer cell apoptosis. Thus, mBeRFP appears to be particularly useful for cellular imaging applications.

• Authors: Jie Yang, Liang Wang, Fei Yang, Haiming Luo, Lingling Xu, Jinling Lu, Shaoqun Zeng, Zhihong Zhang
• Journal: PloS one (PLoS One) Vol. 8 Issue 6 Pg. e64849 ( 2013) ISSN: 1932-6203 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 23840310 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Luminescent Proteins
• Recombinant Proteins

Topics

• Amino Acid Substitution
• Apoptosis
• Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
• HeLa Cells
• Humans
• Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
• Luminescent Proteins (biosynthesis, chemistry, genetics)
• Microscopy, Confocal
• Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
• Recombinant Proteins (biosynthesis, chemistry, genetics)
• Red Fluorescent Protein