Yellow and oxidation-resistant derivatives of a monomeric superfolder GFP

Abstract

Fluorescent proteins (FPs) are essential tools in biology. The utility of FPs depends on their brightness, photostability, efficient folding, monomeric state, and compatibility with different cellular environments. Despite the proliferation of available FPs, derivatives of the originally identified Aequorea victoria GFP often show superior behavior as fusion tags. We recently generated msGFP2, an optimized monomeric superfolder variant of A. victoria GFP. Here, we describe two derivatives of msGFP2. The monomeric variant msYFP2 is a yellow superfolder FP with high photostability. The monomeric variant moxGFP2 lacks cysteines but retains significant folding stability, so it works well in the lumen of the secretory pathway. These new FPs are useful for common imaging applications.