Improving membrane voltage measurements using FRET with new fluorescent proteins
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Updated: Jul 3, 2026
Imaging Membrane Potential with Two Types of Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Voltage Sensors
Published on: February 4, 2016
Hidekazu Tsutsui1, Satoshi Karasawa, Yasushi Okamura
1Laboratory for Cell Function Dynamics, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
Abstract:
We used two new coral fluorescent proteins as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) donor and acceptor to develop a voltage sensor, named Mermaid, that displays approximately 40% changes in emission ratio per 100 mV, allowing for direct visualization of electrical activities in cultured excitable cells. Notably, Mermaid has fast on-off kinetics at warm (approximately 33 degrees C) temperatures and can report voltage spikes comparable to action potentials.
