A photoactivatable marker protein for pulse-chase imaging with superresolution

IrisFP is a photoactivatable fluorescent protein that combines irreversible photoconversion from a green- to a red-emitting form with reversible photoswitching between a fluorescent and a nonfluorescent state in both forms. Here we introduce a monomeric variant, mIrisFP, and demonstrate how its multiple photoactivation modes can be used for pulse-chase experiments combined with subdiffraction-resolution imaging in living cells by using dual-color photoactivation localization microscopy (PALM).