Unnatural Amino Acid Mutagenesis of Fluorescent Proteins

Abstract

Tyrosine 66 of a green fluorescent protein (GFP) was substituted with unnatural amino acids carrying boronate, azido, nitro, and keto substituents. In general, the values of these GFP mutants is blue-shifted relative to that of GFP, and the fluorescence intensity of the boronate variant increases upon oxidation (see scheme). The X-ray crystal structures of the keto and boronate GFP mutants provide explanations of their altered fluorescence properties. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.