Blue fluorescent protein from the calcium-sensitive photoprotein aequorin is a heat resistant enzyme, catalyzing the oxidation of coelenterazine

AbstractBlue fluorescent protein from the calcium-sensitive photoprotein aequorin (BFP-aq) was prepared and determined to be a heat resistant enzyme, catalyzing the luminescent oxidation of coelenterazine (luciferin) with molecular oxygen as a general luciferase. After treatment with excess ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid to remove Ca2+ from BFP-aq, the blue fluorescence shifted to a greenish fluorescence. This greenish fluorescent protein (gFP-aq) was identified as a non-covalent complex of apoaequorin with coelenteramide (oxyluciferin) in a molar ratio of 1:1. By incubation with coelenterazine in the absence of reducing reagents, gFP-aq was converted to aequorin at 25 °C. BFP-aq and gFP-aq possessing both fluorescence and luminescence activities may work as novel reporter proteins