Molecular Watercolor: Mixing Fluorescent Proteins to Label Families of Cells
Molecular Watercolor: Mixing Fluorescent Proteins to Label Families of Cells
Collections: Image Award Winners
2013 Award Winner
Robert Mathis
Gupta Laboratory
Koch Institute at MIT, Whitehead Institute
Cancer cells inside a single tumor are monoclonal; that is, they are family, all traceable back to a common ancestor. Within a tumor family tree, however, genetic instability produces branches that are wildly different from one other. How can scientists track these “families” inside a tumor and identify the most invasive and dangerous? One could label each family with a different colored fluorescent protein, but only a few protein colors are available and there are many families to track. So, like painters with a limited palette, researchers created varied mixtures of red, green, and blue proteins inside cells, revealing the rainbow of different families seen here.
![](/files/images/styles/exhibit_full/public/imce/exhibits/2013/robmathis.jpg?itok=xf0Fvt7L)
Video
Robert Mathis tells the story behind his award-winning image.