Fluorescence emitted by a fungus protein

2010/02/02 Kortabitarte Egiguren, Irati - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Mikrobiologia

This is an image made by researchers from the Department of Applied Chemistry of the Faculty of Chemical Sciences of the UPV. The international journal Microbiology has published in the cover of the number 155 of December 2009. The image highlights the fluorescence emitted by a protein from the nuclei of Aspergillus nidulans fungus cells.

The article corresponding to the image has been written by two researchers of the UPV, Doctors Aitor Garzia and Unai Ugalde and two other researchers of the Biological Research Center of the CSIC. This work has investigated the development and distribution of nuclei in the different stages of the cell life cycle. Protein fluorescents containing some jellyfish species have been used to indicate the proteins analyzed. The adhesion of these fluorescent proteins to others (H1 Histone) allows them to easily identify and follow their movements with the help of a microscope.

A. nidulans is the first time the fungus H1 Histone protein is targeted. This macromolecule is associated with mitosis, that is, cell division.

Image courtesy of: Aitor Garzia.