earticle

영어

Recombinant proteins containing an N-terminal fragment of splitinteins were selectively labeled with a fluorescent dye in live cells through an amide bond. This approach allows introduction of various ligands with diverse physical properties to a target protein. Such in situ addition of small probes perturbs the properties of target proteins much less than does green fluorescent proteins and enables monitoring the functions and locations of target proteins in live cells. Additionally, the use of photo-chemical switch allows the necessary temporal control for studying the function of proteins with increased sensitivity. This system provides a novel and effective approach to control the fluorescent tagging of proteins in live cells using light as an external stimulus.