What is a green fluorescent protein?
Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a protein that occurs in the type of jellyfish, aequorea Victoria located in the North Pacific. Fluorescence is a phenomenon where certain substances absorb energy from electromagnetic radiation, such as light, and emit energy at another, usually longer wavelength. The green glow produced by GFP is the result of IT absorbing relatively high -energy blue and ultraviolet light and radiating it as green light, which has longer wavelengths and less energy; It will therefore shine green when exposed to the invisible ultraviolet light. GFP is particularly interesting for biologists, because unlike most other fluorescent proteins, it itself fluoresses without the requirement for any interaction with other molecules. Because it is a protein composed exclusively of amino acids, it means that organisms can be genetically created to produce it, leading to a wide range of applications in different areas of biology.
Bioluminescence with VyskYets in many marine organisms. In the case of aequorea victoria , the chemiluminescence called Aequorin emits blue light when combined with calcium ions. This light is then absorbed by the green fluorescent protein to form a green glow. It has been found that many other marine organisms contain these substances, but it is not clear why they developed to create this glow or change color from blue to green. One proposal, based on experimental evidence that the glowing GFP can release electrons, is that GFP could act as a light activated electron donor, similar to chlorophyll in green plants.
Green fluorescent protein has a complex structure. The fluorescent part - known as fluorescent chromophore - consists of three amino acids, tyrosine, glycine and either serine or threonin, joined in the shape of a circle. This is contained in the cylindricel structure that protects chromophore from contact with other molecules, which is a trait that is for FluoreScence essential, because contact with water molecules would otherwise distract the energy used to produce a green glow.
GFP has proved to be very useful in fields such as genetics, developmental biology, microbiology and neurology. Can be used to mark specific proteins within the body to determine where and when they are expressed; Part of the DNA organism that encodes a protein that is interesting can be designed to synthesize GFP, allowing monitoring protein in living cells using ultraviolet light. In this way, viruses can also be marked, allowing monitoring infections in living organisms. Green fluorescent protein can also be modified on fluoresce in several other colors and open new options. One of them was to create transgenic mice with various combinations of fluorescent proteins expressed in neurons, which allows to study the nerve pathways in the brain in detail.
Other applications were found outside biology. One of the accountsThe rover development is the engineering of fluorescent animals. Genetically modified animals have been created that produce green fluorescent protein and include fish, rats, pigs and rabbits.