New reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent protein for nanoscale imaging of living cells

Reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent proteins (rsFPs) are gaining popularity as tags for optical nanoscopy because they make it possible to image with lower light doses. However, green rsFPs need violet-blue light for photoswitching, which is potentially phototoxic and highly scattering. Ilaria Testa (KTH/SciLifeLab) and colleagues have developed new rsFPs based on the monomeric red fluorescent protein FusionRed, that are reversibly photoswitchable with green-orange light. The rsFusionReds are bright and exhibit rapid photoswitching, thereby enabling nanoscale imaging of living cells. The work was presented in Nature Methods.

Read full scientific paper in Nature Methods