GFPを使ってできること

―その物理化学的特性を利用した様々な応用―

抄録

The discovery and development of green fluorescent protein (GFP) from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria and,more recently red fluorescent protein (dsRed) from the sea anemone Discosoma striata, have revolutionized our ability to study biological function such as protein localization, dynamics and interactions in living cells. The usefulness of GFPs derives from the finding that the fluorescent property of GFPs requires no other cofactor: The fluorophore forms spontaneously from the cyclization of the peptide backbone. Although GFPs promise high sensitivity and great versatility for biological applications, they sometimes send irresponsible signals because of the properties such as their sensitivity to pH and chloride fluctuations and photobleaching. Therefore, GFP users should be careful in interpreting the fluorescent signals from GFP variants to obtain reliable biological data. On the other hand, by using the characteristics, a wide range of application could be done. In this review, we will present 1) an overview of the physicochemical properties of GFPs, and 2) the valuable applications of GFP for biological research, including circularly permuted GFP technology and GFP-based fluorescence resonance energy transfer technique as well as their potential in a variety of biological sensors.