scholarly journals Structural analysis of the bright monomeric yellow-green fluorescent protein mNeonGreen obtained by directed evolution

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (12) ◽  
pp. 1298-1307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damien Clavel ◽  
Guillaume Gotthard ◽  
David von Stetten ◽  
Daniele De Sanctis ◽  
Hélène Pasquier ◽  
...  

Until recently, genes coding for homologues of the autofluorescent protein GFP had only been identified in marine organisms from the phyla Cnidaria and Arthropoda. New fluorescent-protein genes have now been found in the phylum Chordata, coding for particularly bright oligomeric fluorescent proteins such as the tetrameric yellow fluorescent proteinlanYFP fromBranchiostoma lanceolatum. A successful monomerization attempt led to the development of the bright yellow-green fluorescent protein mNeonGreen. The structures oflanYFP and mNeonGreen have been determined and compared in order to rationalize the directed evolution process leading from a bright, tetrameric to a still bright, monomeric fluorescent protein. An unusual discolouration of crystals of mNeonGreen was observed after X-ray data collection, which was investigated using a combination of X-ray crystallography and UV–visible absorption and Raman spectroscopies, revealing the effects of specific radiation damage in the chromophore cavity. It is shown that X-rays rapidly lead to the protonation of the phenolate O atom of the chromophore and to the loss of its planarity at the methylene bridge.

PLoS Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. e3000936
Author(s):  
Gerard G. Lambert ◽  
Hadrien Depernet ◽  
Guillaume Gotthard ◽  
Darrin T. Schultz ◽  
Isabelle Navizet ◽  
...  

Using mRNA sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly, we identified, cloned, and characterized 9 previously undiscovered fluorescent protein (FP) homologs from Aequorea victoria and a related Aequorea species, with most sequences highly divergent from A. victoria green fluorescent protein (avGFP). Among these FPs are the brightest green fluorescent protein (GFP) homolog yet characterized and a reversibly photochromic FP that responds to UV and blue light. Beyond green emitters, Aequorea species express purple- and blue-pigmented chromoproteins (CPs) with absorbances ranging from green to far-red, including 2 that are photoconvertible. X-ray crystallography revealed that Aequorea CPs contain a chemically novel chromophore with an unexpected crosslink to the main polypeptide chain. Because of the unique attributes of several of these newly discovered FPs, we expect that Aequorea will, once again, give rise to an entirely new generation of useful probes for bioimaging and biosensing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. eaaw4988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Trigo-Mourino ◽  
Thomas Thestrup ◽  
Oliver Griesbeck ◽  
Christian Griesinger ◽  
Stefan Becker

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between mutants of green fluorescent protein is widely used to monitor protein-protein interactions and as a readout mode in fluorescent biosensors. Despite the fundamental importance of distance and molecular angles of fluorophores to each other, structural details on fluorescent protein FRET have been missing. Here, we report the high-resolution x-ray structure of the fluorescent proteins mCerulean3 and cpVenus within the biosensor Twitch-2B, as they undergo FRET and characterize the dynamics of this biosensor with B02-dependent paramagnetic nuclear magnetic resonance at 900 MHz and 1.1 GHz. These structural data provide the unprecedented opportunity to calculate FRET from the x-ray structure and to compare it to experimental data in solution. We find that interdomain dynamics limits the FRET effect and show that a rigidification of the sensor further enhances FRET.


2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (5) ◽  
pp. H1647-H1654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Philippe Fortin ◽  
Johanne Bouthillier ◽  
François Marceau

We hypothesized that the inducible kinin B1 receptor (B1R) is rapidly cleared from cells when its synthesis subsides. The agonist-independent degradation of the rabbit B1Rs and related B2 receptors (B2Rs) was investigated. Endocytosis of the B1R-yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) conjugate was more intense than that of B2R-green fluorescent protein (GFP) based on fluorescence accumulation in HEK 293 cells treated with a lysosomal inhibitor. The cells expressing B1R-YFP contained more GFP/YFP-sized degradation product(s) than those expressing B2R-GFP (immunoblot, antibodies equally reacting with both fluorescent proteins). The binding site density of B1R-YFP decreased in the presence of protein synthesis or maturation inhibitors (anisomycin, brefeldin A), whereas that of B2R-GFP remained constant. Wild-type B1Rs were also cleared faster than B2Rs in rabbit smooth muscle cells treated with metabolic inhibitors. Contractility experiments based on brefeldin A-treated isolated rabbit blood vessels also functionally support that B1Rs are more rapidly eliminated than B2Rs (decreased maximal effect of agonist over 2 h). The highly regulated B1R is rapidly degraded, relative to the constitutive B2R.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 1096-1106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Tai ◽  
Kiyofumi Takaba ◽  
Yuya Hanazono ◽  
Hoang-Anh Dao ◽  
Kunio Miki ◽  
...  

Hydrogen atoms are critical to the nature and properties of proteins, and thus deuteration has the potential to influence protein function. In fact, it has been reported that some deuterated proteins show different physical and chemical properties to their protiated counterparts. Consequently, it is important to investigate protonation states around the active site when using deuterated proteins. Here, hydrogen isotope effects on the S65T/F99S/M153T/V163A variant of green fluorescent protein (GFP), in which the deprotonated B form is dominant at pH 8.5, were investigated. The pH/pD dependence of the absorption and fluorescence spectra indicates that the protonation state of the chromophore is the same in protiated GFP in H2O and protiated GFP in D2O at pH/pD 8.5, while the pK a of the chromophore became higher in D2O. Indeed, X-ray crystallographic analyses at sub-ångström resolution revealed no apparent changes in the protonation state of the chromophore between the two samples. However, detailed comparisons of the hydrogen OMIT maps revealed that the protonation state of His148 in the vicinity of the chromophore differed between the two samples. This indicates that protonation states around the active site should be carefully adjusted to be the same as those of the protiated protein when neutron crystallographic analyses of proteins are performed.


2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (15) ◽  
pp. 5601-5607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica C. Wilks ◽  
Joan L. Slonczewski

ABSTRACT Cytoplasmic pH and periplasmic pH of Escherichia coli cells in suspension were observed with 4-s time resolution using fluorimetry of TorA-green fluorescent protein mutant 3* (TorA-GFPmut3*) and TetR-yellow fluorescent protein. Fluorescence intensity was correlated with pH using cell suspensions containing 20 mM benzoate, which equalizes the cytoplasmic pH with the external pH. When the external pH was lowered from pH 7.5 to 5.5, the cytoplasmic pH fell within 10 to 20 s to pH 5.6 to 6.5. Rapid recovery occurred until about 30 s after HCl addition and was followed by slower recovery over the next 5 min. As a control, KCl addition had no effect on fluorescence. In the presence of 5 to 10 mM acetate or benzoate, recovery from external acidification was diminished. Addition of benzoate at pH 7.0 resulted in cytoplasmic acidification with only slow recovery. Periplasmic pH was observed using TorA-GFPmut3* exported to the periplasm through the Tat system. The periplasmic location of the fusion protein was confirmed by the observation that osmotic shock greatly decreased the periplasmic fluorescence signal by loss of the protein but had no effect on the fluorescence of the cytoplasmic protein. Based on GFPmut3* fluorescence, the pH of the periplasm equaled the external pH under all conditions tested, including rapid acid shift. Benzoate addition had no effect on periplasmic pH. The cytoplasmic pH of E. coli was measured with 4-s time resolution using a method that can be applied to any strain construct, and the periplasmic pH was measured directly for the first time.


2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (7) ◽  
pp. 2218-2224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey L. Bose ◽  
Paul D. Fey ◽  
Kenneth W. Bayles

ABSTRACTThebursa aurealistransposon has been used to create transposon insertion libraries ofBacillus anthracisandStaphylococcus aureus. To provide a set of genetic tools to enhance the utility of these libraries, we generated an allelic-exchange system that allows for the replacement of the transposon with useful genetic markers and fluorescent reporter genes. These tools were tested in the Nebraska Transposon Mutant Library (NTML), containing defined transposon insertions in 1,952 nonessentialS. aureusgenes. First, we generated a plasmid that allows researchers to replace the genes encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) and erythromycin resistance in the transposon with a noncoding DNA fragment, leaving a markerless mutation within the chromosome. Second, we produced allelic-exchange plasmids to replace the transposon with alternate antibiotic resistance cassettes encoding tetracycline, kanamycin, and spectinomycin resistance, allowing for the simultaneous selection of multiple chromosomal mutations. Third, we generated a series of fluorescent reporter constructs that, after allelic exchange, generate transcriptional reporters encoding codon-optimized enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (ECFP), enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP), DsRed.T3(DNT), and eqFP650, as well as superfolder green fluorescent protein (sGFP). Overall, combining the NTML with this allelic-exchange system provides an unparalleled resource for the study ofS. aureus.


ACS Nano ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 9528-9541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Duwé ◽  
Elke De Zitter ◽  
Vincent Gielen ◽  
Benjamien Moeyaert ◽  
Wim Vandenberg ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
KM Quigley ◽  
ME Strader ◽  
MV Matz

AbstractCoral-dinoflagellate symbiosis is the key biological interaction enabling existence of modern-type coral reefs, but the mechanisms regulating initial host–symbiont attraction, recognition and symbiont proliferation thus far remain largely unclear. A common reef-building coral, Acropora millepora, displays conspicuous fluorescent polymorphism during all phases of its life cycle, due to the differential expression of fluorescent proteins (FPs) of the green fluorescent protein family. In this study, we examine whether fluorescent variation in young coral juveniles exposed to natural sediments is associated with the uptake of disparate Symbiodinium assemblages determined using ITS-2 deep sequencing. We found that Symbiodinium assemblages varied significantly when redness values varied, specifically in regards to abundances of clades A and C. Whether fluorescence was quantified as a categorical or continuous trait, clade A was found at higher abundances in redder juveniles. These preliminary results suggest juvenile fluorescence may be associated with Symbiodinium uptake, potentially acting as either as an attractant to ecologically specific types or as a mechanism to modulate the internal light environment to control Symbiodinium physiology within the host.


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