GEORGE RETSECKTranslation trackers
In quick succession this year, four independent teams came up with protocols for observing the birth of proteins as it happens. Three of the groups relied upon another newly developed tool, called SunTag, which fluorescently lights up proteins engineered to contain a particular epitope. The researchers combined SunTag with loops built into the proteins’ corresponding messenger RNAs, which are also fluorescently tagged. Rather than using SunTag, the fourth team engineered a different kind of epitope tag.
“The fact that you have four labs working on this is a testament to how hot the topic is,” Colorado State University’s Tim Stasevich, whose lab developed one of the techniques, told The Scientist this year.
Nahum Sonenberg of McGill University in Canada who did not participate in the ...
