The use of green fluorescent proteins to view association between phospholipase C beta and G protein subunits in cells.

A major advance in biology is the ability to attach either green fluorescence protein (GFP) or one of its variants to a target protein and follow its cellular localization and interaction with other partners by fluorescence microscopy. Our laboratory has previously developed fluorescence energy-transfer methods to measure the kinetics and affinities of the lateral association between phospholipase C (PLC) and G protein subunits on membrane surfaces. We are currently developing methods to view these associations in living cells using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between GFP-based chimeras. Because the improvements and variations of these GFP-based FRET techniques has continued on a rapid pace, we focus only on the basic principles behind these measurements and the methods used, which may continue to be applicable as improvements become available.