MS2 tagging
Encyclopedia
Techniques based upon the interaction of the MS2 bacteriophage coat protein with a stem loop structure from the phage genome. Used for biochemical purification of RNA-protein complexes and partnered to GFP
for detection of RNA in living cells. More recently, the technique has been used to monitor the appearance of RNA in living cells, at the site of transcription, or simply by observing the changes in RNA number in the cytoplasm . This has revealed that transcription of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic genes occurs in a discontinuous fashion (see Transcriptional bursting
) with bursts of transcription separated by irregular intervals.
Green fluorescent protein
The green fluorescent protein is a protein composed of 238 amino acid residues that exhibits bright green fluorescence when exposed to blue light. Although many other marine organisms have similar green fluorescent proteins, GFP traditionally refers to the protein first isolated from the...
for detection of RNA in living cells. More recently, the technique has been used to monitor the appearance of RNA in living cells, at the site of transcription, or simply by observing the changes in RNA number in the cytoplasm . This has revealed that transcription of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic genes occurs in a discontinuous fashion (see Transcriptional bursting
Transcriptional bursting
Transcriptional bursting, also known as transcriptional pulsing, is a fundamental property of genes from bacteria to humans. Transcription of genes, the process which transforms the stable code written in DNA into the mobile RNA message can occur in "bursts" or "pulses"...
) with bursts of transcription separated by irregular intervals.