Tips for creating glowing plants

Just over a decade ago, biologists isolated a unique protein from jellyfish that could be inserted into other organisms-from E. coli to pigs-and cause them to radiate a brilliant green color.

This green fluorescent protein (GFP) has allowed biologists to make many new discoveries regarding how living cells function. But one kingdom of life-plants-has presented special challenges to GFP detection: plants harbor tough cell walls and enormous subcellular structures that interfere with visualization, and their natural green pigments can mask the luminescent qualities of GFP.

The current issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols includes a freely available article that addresses these concerns (http://www.cshprotocols.org/cgi/content/full/2007/3/pdb.ip31). It provides advice on choosing appropriate plant tissues, designing test proteins for maximal GFP detection, and setting up microscope equipment for imaging in plants. This information will be useful to a broad range of scientists interested in plant biology and imaging technologies.- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory