University Of Oregon scientists reveal how coral reefs got the blues
University of Oregon scientists report their discovery of the basis for the blue coloration found in many coral reef formations in an article published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...
Jim Remington and Nathan Henderson of the university's Institute of Molecular Biology describe the crystal structure of a cyan (greenish-blue) fluorescent protein from a sea anemone in the report, which completes the Remington laboratory's systematic study of the five classes of reef chromoproteins.
"Molecular and cellular biologists are familiar with the popular green fluorescent protein, first isolated from a jellyfish, which is used by researchers to label internal structures in living cells," said Remington, a physics professor.
"However, it is less well known that the dramatic coloration of coral reef formations is largely due to four closely related classes of proteins: cyan, green, yellow and red fluorescent proteins. In addition, a fifth class of protein is not fluorescent, but conveys a deep purple coloration to the tentacles of sea anemones and similar animals."
Jim Remington and Nathan Henderson of the university's Institute of Molecular Biology describe the crystal structure of a cyan (greenish-blue) fluorescent protein from a sea anemone in the report, which completes the Remington laboratory's systematic study of the five classes of reef chromoproteins.
"Molecular and cellular biologists are familiar with the popular green fluorescent protein, first isolated from a jellyfish, which is used by researchers to label internal structures in living cells," said Remington, a physics professor.
"However, it is less well known that the dramatic coloration of coral reef formations is largely due to four closely related classes of proteins: cyan, green, yellow and red fluorescent proteins. In addition, a fifth class of protein is not fluorescent, but conveys a deep purple coloration to the tentacles of sea anemones and similar animals."
