Fluorescence emitting proteins and their scientific applications.

Belonging to a structurally homologous class of proteins, the green fluorescent protein (GFP) family of fluorescent proteins have the special ability to independently generate a visible wavelength chromophore from a specific sequence of amino acids present in their polypeptide chain. Their discovery was a breakthrough in the field of biology as these tools enable tracking of labeled cells and molecules, examining gene expression, visualizing dynamic processes, molecular interactions, molecule activity, and much more speeding up the research process. One of the most used fluorescent proteins is green fluorescent protein; an important tool which was first observed in 1962 in the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. From that point onward, GFP has enabled the observation of previously invisible processes such as the activity of cancer cells and the growth of nerve cells in the brain. Currently, a panoply of novel intrinsic or specific ligand activated fluorescent proteins including two novel families, halo- and snap-tag proteins, were used in scientific research with unprecedented outcomes in cell biology. This data addresses properties of these different types of fluorescent proteins in a comparative fashion.