Abstract

Many cnidarians utilize green-fluorescent proteins (GFPs) as energy-transfer acceptors in bioluminescence. GFPs fluoresce in vivo upon receiving energy from either a luciferase-oxyluciferin excited-state complex or a Ca²⁺-activated photoprotein. These highly fluorescent proteins are unique due to the chemical nature of their chromophore, which is comprised of modified amino acid (aa) residues within the polypeptide. This report describes the cloning and sequencing of both cDNA and genomic clones of GFP from the cnidarian, Aequorea victoria. The gfp10 cDNA encodes a 238-aa-residue polypeptide with a calculated M_r of 26888. Comparsion of A. victoria GFP genomic clones shows three different restriction enzyme patterns which suggests that at least three different genes are present in the A. victoria population at Friday Harbor, Washington. The gfp gene encoded by the λGFP2 genomic clone is comprised of at least three exons spread over 2.6 kb. The nucleotide sequences of the cDNA and the gene will aid in the elucidation of structure-function relationships in this unique class of proteins.

Author Keywords: Bioluminescence; Cnidaria; aequorin; energy transfer; chromophore; cloning

Abbreviations: A., Acquorea; aa, amino acid(s); bp, base pair(s); GFP, green-fluorescent protein; gfp, DNA or RNA encoding GFP; kb, kilobase(s) or 1000 bp; nt, nucleotide(s); oligo, oligodeoxyribonucleotide; ORF, open reading frame(s)

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Corresponding author. Correspondence to: Dr. D.C. Prasher, Redfield Bldg., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, , Woods Hole, MA 02543 , U.S.A. Tel. (508)457-2000, ext. 2311; Fax (508)457-2195.