Mechanisms of protein fluorophore formation and engineering

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria and GFP-like proteins from Anthozoa species contain light-absorbing chromophores within their protein sequences. Recent studies have made progress in obtaining bright variants of these proteins that develop chromophores quickly and efficiently, as well as novel fluorescent proteins that photoconvert (i.e. change color upon illumination at specific wavelengths). Further molecular characterization of the structure and maturation of these proteins is in progress, aimed at providing information for rational design of variants with desired fluorescence properties.