Green fluorescent Protein from Aequorea coerulescens behavior in presence of potentially toxic metal ions.

In this study, we investigated the spectroscopic properties of recombinant GFP from Aequorea coerulescens (Photo 1) "rAcGFP1" (Clontech) in presence of environmental contaminants as Cd, Ni and Pb potentially dangerous for human health. rAcGFP1 is a pure, stable and monomeric protein with a 27KDa molecular weight. This experiment is conceived in the context of the study of fluorescent proteins suitability as Biosensors. Indeed, devices based on uv-visible fluorescence of biomolecules could be used as suitable tools to observe and monitor occurring contamination conditions also in situ. The absorption and the emission spectra of rAcGFP1 were monitored as a function of metal ions concentration. The observed variations in the rAcGFP1 emission spectra in the observed conditions suggest the sensitivity of protein fluorescence to the presence of the different metal ions.