Antibody fusions with fluorescent proteins: a versatile reagent for profiling protein expression

We developed a system by which antibodies, fused to fluorescent proteins wi th different wavelengths, can be prepared within a month against various an tigens. An antibody library composed of a large number of single-chain Fv-C L fragment was constructed by means of a phage-display system. The construc ts were designed to facilitate changing of the protein forms by simple enzy me manipulation. In the present study, we adopted a molecular form of antib ody in which a single-chain Fv-CL fragment is fused with a green fluorescen t protein (GFP) or red fluorescent protein (RFP). In addition, a His-tag wa s inserted between CL and GFP (or RFP). We describe the utility of this sys tem using Caenorhabditis elegans embryo as a model. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scien ce B.V. All rights reserved.