Fluorescence imaging of cellular metabolites with RNA. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Genetically encoded sensors are powerful tools for imaging intracellular metabolites and signaling molecules. However, developing sensors is challenging because they require proteins that undergo conformational changes upon binding the desired target molecule. We describe an approach for generating fluorescent sensors based on Spinach, an RNA sequence that binds and activates the fluorescence of a small-molecule fluorophore. We show that these sensors can detect a variety of different small molecules in vitro and in living cells. These RNAs constitute a versatile approach for fluorescence imaging of small molecules and have the potential to detect essentially any cellular biomolecule.

publication date

  • March 9, 2012

Research

keywords

  • Adenosine Diphosphate
  • Aptamers, Nucleotide
  • Benzyl Compounds
  • Escherichia coli
  • Imidazolines
  • RNA
  • S-Adenosylmethionine

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC3303607

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 84858030373

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1126/science.1218298

PubMed ID

  • 22403384

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 335

issue

  • 6073