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1: Science. 2006 Mar 17;311(5767):1600-3.
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Probing gene expression in live cells, one protein molecule at a time.

Yu J, Xiao J, Ren X, Lao K, Xie XS.

Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.

We directly observed real-time production of single protein molecules in individual Escherichia coli cells. A fusion protein of a fast-maturing yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and a membrane-targeting peptide was expressed under a repressed condition. The membrane-localized YFP can be detected with single-molecule sensitivity. We found that the protein molecules are produced in bursts, with each burst originating from a stochastically transcribed single messenger RNA molecule, and that protein copy numbers in the bursts follow a geometric distribution. The quantitative study of low-level gene expression demonstrates the potential of single-molecule experiments in elucidating the workings of fundamental biological processes in living cells.

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PMID: 16543458 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]