What are the different types of GFP?

Types of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) has become a vital tool in molecular and cellular biology for labeling proteins, cells, and organisms. Originating from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, GFP has been engineered into a variety of forms to suit different experimental needs. Below are the main types of GFP:

1. Wild-Type GFP

The original form of GFP, discovered in the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. It emits green light when exposed to blue or ultraviolet light. However, its fluorescence is relatively weak and has a slow maturation time.

2. Enhanced GFP (EGFP)

A mutant form of GFP that has been optimized for brighter fluorescence and faster maturation. EGFP has a single amino acid substitution (S65T) that significantly improves its optical properties.

3. Superfolder GFP

Designed for better folding efficiency under harsh conditions, such as high temperatures or denaturing environments. Superfolder GFP maintains its fluorescence in conditions where other GFP variants would denature.

4. Photoactivatable GFP (PA-GFP)

A variant that increases its fluorescence intensity upon exposure to specific wavelengths of light. PA-GFP allows researchers to selectively highlight proteins or cellular regions of interest.

5. Cyan and Yellow Fluorescent Proteins (CFP and YFP)

Engineered variants of GFP that fluoresce in cyan and yellow colors, respectively. These variants enable multicolor labeling and FRET (Förster Resonance Energy Transfer) applications, allowing the study of protein interactions.

6. mCherry

Although not a GFP variant, mCherry is a red fluorescent protein derived from a separate coral species. It is often used in conjunction with GFP variants for multicolor imaging.

These GFP variants have expanded the toolkit available to researchers, enabling sophisticated experiments in live imaging, protein localization, and interaction studies.

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