Tracking of individual freely diffusing fluorescent protein molecules in the bacterial cytoplasm

2010/03/10 by Brian P. English, English, Brian P., Arash Sanamrad +7
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques #FOS: Biological sciences #Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms #Quantitative Methods (q-bio.QM)

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1003.2110

openalex publication_date 2010/03/10 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We combine stroboscopic laser excitation with stochastic photoactivation and super-resolution fluorescence imaging. This makes it possible to record hundreds of diffusion trajectories of small protein molecules in single bacterial cells with millisecond time resolution and sub-diffraction limited spatial precision. We conclude that the small protein mEos2 exhibits normal diffusion in the bacterial cytoplasm with a diffusion coefficient of 13.1 -+ 1.2 μm² s^(-1). This investigation lays the groundwork for studying single-molecule binding and dissociation events for a wide range of intracellular processes.

Related

• Single-image diffusion coefficient measurements of proteins in free\n solution
• Isotropic diffusion of the small ribosomal subunit in Escherichia coli
• A review of progress in single particle tracking: from methods to biophysical insights
• Macromolecular interactions and geometrical confinement determine the 3D diffusion of ribosome-sized particles in live Escherichia coli cells
• Anomalous subdiffusion in living cells: bridging the gap between\n experiments and realistic models through collaborative challenges