F?rster distances for fluorescence resonant energy transfer between mCherry and other visible fluorescent proteins

摘要

We present, for the red fluorescent protein mCherry acting as both fluorescence resonant energy transfer (FRET) donor and acceptor, F?rster critical distance (r_0) values with five important visible fluorescent protein (VFP) variants as well as with itself. The pair EYFP-mCherry exhibits an r_0 of 5.66nm, equaling or exceeding any combination of VFPs reported previously. Moreover, mCherry should be an excellent chromophore for homo-FRET with an r_0 of 5.10nm for energy transfer between two mCherry moieties. Finally, mCherry exhibits higher r_0 values than does DsRed. These characteristics, combined with mCherry's rapid folding and excellent spectral properties, suggest that mCherry constitutes a valuable long-wavelength hetero-FRET acceptor and probe for homo-FRET experiments.