Tracking components of the transcription apparatus in living cells

Transcription regulatory proteins are an integral component of the cell nuc leus and a great deal of work has been done to characterize the subnuclear distribution of these proteins. Much of the early work on this subject was done with immunofluorescence. The development of the green fluorescent prot ein (GFP) as a marker for intracellular protein localization has allowed fo r the real time study of protein localization and dynamics in living cells. In this review, an overview of the way in which GFP can be utilized to stu dy protein localization is presented. (C) 1999 Academic Press.