MiniSOG-labeled proteins and organelles exhibit correct localization at the light microscopic level. COURTESY ROGER TSIEN AND PLOS BIOLOGY
1. A glowing gene tag
A new, genetically-encoded fluorescent protein created in the lab of Roger Tsien, who shared a Nobel Prize for developing green fluorescent protein (GFP), is poised to revolutionize electron microscopy. Engineered from an Arabidopsis protein, "miniSOG" (for mini Singlet Oxygen Generator) is less than half the size of GFP, binds to a suite of well-characterized proteins, and can faithfully tag a variety of mammalian cells as well as cell in intact rodents and nematodes.
X. Shu, et al., "A genetically encoded tag for correlated light and electron microscopy of intact cells, tissues, and organisms," PLoS Biology, 9:e1001041, 2011.
2. I Spy
Researchers testing the ability of engineered E. coli cells to stabilize unstable proteins in vivo, stumbled upon a new protein ...
