Prescott's Microbiology 8th Edition by Joanne Willey, Linda Sherwood, Christopher J. Woolverton, Lansing Prescott, John Harley, Donald Klein

Exercise 2

How is GFP similar to a fluorochrome? How is it different? What advantage does GFP have over a traditional fluorochrome?

Step 1 of 2

The green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a protein that is able to absorb a particular wavelength of light and releases green light. GFP is similar to a fluorochrome as light can excite its electrons and push them to a higher energy state. When the electrons return to ground level, the energy is released as a lower wavelength of light. A fluorochrome is a chemical compound whereas GFP is a protein. Fluorochromes are tends to be small and GFP is tend to be large.