Difference between revisions of "Part:BBa K823028"

Revision as of 12:57, 6 September 2012

luc luciferase + RBS, codon optimized for Bacillus subtilis

This is the luc monomeric firefly luciferase which needs a special substrate to produce luminescence. With Ribosome binding site included. Codon optimized for Bacillus subtilis and synthesized by gene art.

Firefly luciferase is by far the most commonly used bioluminescent reporter. This monomeric enzyme of 61kDa catalyzes a two-step oxidation reaction to yield light, usually in the green to yellow region, typically 550–570nm . The first step is activation of the luciferyl carboxylate by ATP to yield a reactive mixed anhydride. In the second step, this activated intermediate reacts with oxygen to create a transient dioxetane that breaks down to the oxidized products, oxyluciferin and CO2. Upon mixing with substrates, firefly luciferase produces an initial burst of light that decays over about 15 seconds to a low level of sustained luminescence. This kinetic profile reflects the slow release of the enzymatic product, thus limiting catalytic turnover after the initial reaction.

The popularity of native firefly luciferase as a genetic reporter is due to the sensitivity and convenience of the enzyme assay and tight coupling of protein synthesis with enzyme activity. Firefly luciferase, which is encoded by the luc gene, is a monomer that does not require any post-translational modifications; it is available as a mature enzyme directly upon translation of its mRNA. Catalytic competence is attained immediately after release from the ribosome. Also, luciferase has a very short half-life in cells (approximately 3 hours). Combined, these properties make luciferase an extremely responsive reporter, far more so than other commonly used reporters.

Reference:

[http://www.promega.com/resources/product-guides-and-selectors/protocols-and-applications-guide/bioluminescent-reporters/ Promega]

Sequence and Features