PHmScarlet is a pH-sensitive red fluorescent protein to monitor exocytosis docking and fusion steps.

ABSTRACT: pH-sensitive fluorescent proteins (FPs) are highly advantageous for the non-invasive monitoring of exocytosis events. Superecliptic pHluorin (SEP), a green pH-sensitive FP, has been widely used for imaging single-vesicle exocytosis. However, the docking step cannot be visualized using this FP, since the fluorescence signal inside vesicles is too low to be observed during docking process. Among the available red pH-sensitive FPs, none is comparable to SEP for practical applications due to unoptimized pH-sensitivity and fluorescence brightness or severe photochromic behavior. In this study, we engineer a bright and photostable red pH-sensitive FP, named pHmScarlet, which compared to other red FPs has higher pH sensitivity and enables the simultaneous detection of vesicle docking and fusion.

SUBMITTER: Liu A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7930027 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature