GFP (green florescent protein), originally discovered in the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, (1) is one of the most extensively investigated and exploited proteins in the area of life sciences. GFP is well known for its proficiency emit fluorescence and has proven itself as an indicating marker of gene expression and protein target in intact cells and organisms. To date GFP variants can be chiefly distributed into seven classes based on their elements of their chromophores. One of the first proposed applications of GFP was to detect the gene expression in vivo as a marker protein, thereby allowing the gene product to be detected in subcellular localization studies.
WB analysis of GFP transfected in HeLa whole cell lysate.
GFP has been successfully employed by various investigators to act as a genetic fusion partner to the host proteins there by allowing researchers to monitor the localization and fate of GFP along with the gene encoding the endogenous protein and the resulting byproduct being expressed in the cell or organism under investigation. GFP has also served as a powerful marker in the studies where investigators were interested in the understanding of protein-protein interactions along with the dynamic prost-translational modifications. With the help of florescence microscopy investigators can easily monitor the intracellular processes within the live cells. Scientists have been successful in generating several transgenic animal models that express GFP in specific sites that could enable them to monitor the biological processes in the dearth of several cofactors paving a way for the gene therapy. However enormous challenges and opportunities remain on how GFP can be exploited as a marker protein for the better understanding of the complicated processes leading to several disorders in various organisms and is an open area of research. Novus Biologicals is the vanguard specializing in GFP reagents for your research needs by offering the latest range of GFP antibodies with reactivity against various species.
