Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 105, Issue 50, Pages 20038-20043Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0807551105
Keywords
fluorescence imaging; molecular evolution; photoreceptor; LOV domain
Categories
Funding
- Gatsby Charitable Foundation
- Scottish Government's Rural and Environmental Department
- BBSRC [BB/D010462/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BB/D010462/1] Funding Source: researchfish
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Fluorescent proteins (FPs) based on green fluorescent protein (GFP) are widely used throughout cell biology to study protein dynamics, and have extensive use as reporters of virus infection and spread. However, FP-tagging of viruses is limited by the constraints of viral genome size resulting in FP loss through recombination events. To overcome this, we have engineered a smaller (approximate to 10 kDa) flavin-based alternative to GFP (approximate to 25 kDa) derived from the light, oxygen or voltage-sensing (LOV) domain of the plant blue light receptor, phototropin. Molecular evolution and Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)based expression screening produced LOV variants with improved fluorescence and photostability in planta. One variant in particular, designated iLOV, possessed photophysical properties that made it ideally suited as a reporter of subcellular protein localization in both plant and mammalian cells. Moreover, iLOV fluorescence was found to recover spontaneously after photobleaching and displayed an intrinsic photochemistry conferring advantages over GFP-based FPs. When expressed either as a cytosolic protein or as a viral protein fusion, iLOV functioned as a superior reporter to GFP for monitoring local and systemic infections of plant RNA viruses. iLOV, therefore, offers greater utility in FP-tagging of viral gene products and represents a viable alternative where functional protein expression is limited by steric constraints or genome size.
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