Analytical Sciences

Methods for Imaging and Analyses of Intracellular Organelles Using Fluorescent and Luminescent Proteins

Masaki TAKEUCHI* and Takeaki OZAWA*^,**

*Department of Molecular Structure, Institute for Molecular Science, 38 Nishigonaka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
**PREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan

One of the important features of eukaryotic cells is the presence of intracellular compartments, organelles. Each organelle plays an essential role in the organelle-specific function; each cooperates with others for maintaining the vital activity of living cells. To analyze the organelle-specific functions, researchers have used many fluorescent and luminescent reporter proteins extensively. The reporter proteins have provided unprecedented insights into the movement of proteins and their interactions in the organelles. In this review, we summarize recently validated methods for visualizing protein localization, dynamics and protein-protein interactions, and for identifying a series of proteins localized in organelles using newly developed reporter proteins.

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