Expressing a nuclear protein

by Charlotte Cialek, Colorado State University

 

Ever wondered what happens behind the scenes during protein

expression in a single cell? My lab developed a method to quantify

the dynamics of single translating mRNA (red) producing nuclear

reporter protein (green). The mRNA can be tethered by a cytoplasmic

regulatory factor (blue). During protein synthesis, the green reporter

associates with a red mRNA. After it’s completely synthesized, it

releases the mRNA and relocates to the nucleus. The nucleus turns

bright green when filled with mature reporter protein. And so, this

movie shows the rate of protein production in a single cell. Actual

movie duration: 13 hours (30 minutes between each frame).

 

Done