Single-Molecule Localization Microscopy with the Fluorescence-Activating and Absorption-Shifting Tag (FAST) System

Elizabeth M. Smith, Arnaud Gautier, Elias M. Puchner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

We develop and employ the Fluorescence-Activating and absorption-Shifting Tag (FAST) system for super-resolution (SR) imaging and single-molecule tracking based on single-molecule localizations. The fast off rate of fluorogen binding, combined with its spatially well-separated labeling of the densely expressed FAST fusion proteins, allowed single-molecule measurements to be performed in both living and fixed cells. The well-separated fluorescence localization density was achieved by either reversibly controlling the fluorogen concentration or by irreversibly photobleaching the FAST-fluorogen complex. The experimentally determined resolution of 28 nm allowed us to resolve Ensconsin-labeled microtubules and to track single molecules in mitochondria. Our results demonstrate that FAST is well-suited for single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM). The small size and the availability of spectrally distinct fluorogens present unique advantages of the FAST system as a potential orthogonal labeling strategy that could be applied in conjunction with existing super-resolution dyes and photoactivatable proteins in versatile imaging applications.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1115-1120
Number of pages6
JournalACS Chemical Biology
Volume14
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 21 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We would like to thank R. Stefansson for developing the MSD analysis and PCF code in MATLAB, and J. Mueller for the U2OS cells. This work was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, under Award No. R21GM127965.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Chemical Society.

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