Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Measuring the Kinetics of mRNA Transcription in Single Living Cells
Published on: August 25, 2011
Single molecule approaches to transcription factor kinetics in living cells
1Department of Physics, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Abstract:
Quantitative modeling of intracellular processes often requires information about intracellular rate constants as well as the concentrations of low abundance species in individual cells. Single molecule imaging techniques offer not only new ways for obtaining such information but also the possibilities to test model-based hypotheses that have previously been out of reach for experiments. In this review we highlight some advantages of single molecule techniques and exemplify by their capability to help understanding how transcription factors find their chromosomal binding sites in bacterial cells.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
Transcription Factors
Transcription Elongation Factors
The transcription elongation is regulated via pausing of RNA polymerase on several occasions during transcription. In bacteria, these halts are necessary because the transcription of DNA into mRNA is coupled to the translation of that mRNA into a...
Cooperative Binding of Transcription Regulators

