Green fluorescent protein in the context of Transgene

The beta sheet (β-sheet, also β-pleated sheet) is a common motif of the regular protein secondary structure. Beta sheets consist of beta strands (β-strands) connected laterally by at least two or three backbone hydrogen bonds, forming a generally twisted, pleated sheet. A β-strand is a stretch of polypeptide chain typically 3 to 10 amino acids long with backbone in an extended conformation. The supramolecular association of β-sheets has been implicated in the formation of the fibrils and protein aggregates observed in amyloidosis, Alzheimer's disease and other proteinopathies.

A septum in cell biology is the new cell wall that forms between two daughter cells as a result of cell division. Cell division is an extremely complex process that contains four different subprocesses. These processes included the growth of a cell, DNA replication, the process of allocating replicated chromosomes to daughter cells, and septum formation. Ultimately, the septum is the crucial ending to mitosis, meiosis, and the division of bacterial cells. The formation of the septum (a new cell wall) allows the two daughter cells to be separate from one another and perform their respective functions independently.

Preprophase is an additional phase during mitosis in plant cells that does not occur in other eukaryotes such as animals or fungi. It precedes prophase and is characterized by two distinct events:

1. The formation of the preprophase band, a dense microtubule ring underneath the plasma membrane.
2. The initiation of microtubule nucleation at the nuclear envelope.

An expression vector, otherwise known as an expression construct, is usually a plasmid or virus designed for gene expression in cells. The vector is used to introduce a specific gene into a target cell, and can commandeer the cell's mechanism for protein synthesis to produce the protein encoded by the gene. Expression vectors are the basic tools in biotechnology for the production of proteins.

The vector is engineered to contain regulatory sequences that act as enhancer and promoter regions and lead to efficient transcription of the gene carried on the expression vector. The goal of a well-designed expression vector is the efficient production of protein, and this may be achieved by the production of significant amount of stable messenger RNA, which can then be translated into protein. The expression of a protein may be tightly controlled, and the protein is only produced in significant quantity when necessary through the use of an inducer. In some systems, however, the protein may be expressed constitutively. Escherichia coli is commonly used as the host for protein production, but other cell types may also be used. An example of the use of expression vector is the production of insulin, which is used for medical treatments of diabetes.

In molecular biology and biotechnology, a fluorescent tag, also known as a fluorescent dye, fluorescent label or fluorescent probe, is a molecule that is attached chemically to aid in the detection of a biomolecule such as a protein, antibody, or amino acid. Generally, fluorescent tagging, or labeling, uses a reactive derivative of a fluorescent molecule known as a fluorophore. The fluorophore selectively binds to a specific region or functional group on the target molecule and can be attached chemically or biologically. Various labeling techniques such as enzymatic labeling, protein labeling, and genetic labeling are widely utilized. Ethidium bromide, fluorescein and green fluorescent protein are common tags. The most commonly labelled molecules are antibodies, proteins, amino acids and peptides which are then used as specific probes for detection of a particular target.

Intravital microscopy is a form of microscopy that allows observing biological processes in live animals (in vivo) at a high resolution that makes distinguishing between individual cells of a tissue possible.

In mammals, in some experimental settings a surgical implantation of an imaging window is performed prior to intravital microscopy. This allows repeated observations over several days or weeks. For example, if researchers want to visualize liver cells of a live mouse they will implant an imaging window into mouse's abdomen.Mice are the most common choice of animals for intravital microscopy but in special cases other rodents such as rats might be more suitable. Animals are usually anesthetized throughout surgeries and imaging sessions.Intravital microscopy is used in several areas of research including neurology, immunology, stem cell studies and others. This technique is particularly useful to assess a progression of a disease or an effect of a drug.