Pig Kidney Cells with mEmerald-Fascin and mCherry-H2B
The red fluorescent protein mCherry has been successfully fused to several proteins, including actin, tubulin, and fascin. Other fusion proteins containing mCherry have been reported in zebrafish, E. coli, HIV virions, and yeast. mCherry is a useful tool because the ample separation in color between mCherry and a green fluorescent protein such as mEmerald provides exceptional conditions for identifying protein interactions inside cells.
The LLC-PK1 epithelial cells featured in the digital video sequences in this section are shown expressing mEmerald fused to fascin and mCherry fused to H2B.
The green fluorescent protein fused to fascin, mEmerald, is a derivative of EGFP selected for improved brightness and photostability. Peak excitation and emission of mEmerald occur at 487 and 509 nanometers, respectively. The red fluorescent protein employed to visualize H2B, mCherry, is an original member of the monomeric mFruit series of fluorescent proteins developed via the directed evolution of mRFP1. Excitation and emission maxima of mCherry occur at 587 and 610 nanometers, respectively.